Bare Feet & Cowboy Boots
by khaleesimaka
Summary: Maka is thrown out of her comfort zone and forced to have her life broadcasted for America's viewing pleasure as she finds herself on the dating show The Bachelor. Cameras follow her around as she gets to know the bachelor Soul Evans and fall in love with him. She's been running from love her whole life; not even she knows the end result. (The Bachelor AU)
1. Rude Cowboys & Bad Beginnings

Here is my entry for resbang 2015! Be sure to check out Eis and Tora's art - links are on my profile. They both created beautiful pieces for my story, and I am so grateful to have been able to work with them both.

This story unfortunately is not complete just yet because of life things. However, the mods have approved of me posting the rest before the end of resbang so be on the look out for those. I would also like to thank the mods for everything they have done this resbang; they're the best at what they do and deserve a good break after all this over. I also want to thank my betas meisterful, fabulousanima, marshofsleep, and lucyrne for all the suggestions they made to help make this story better. I really did learn a lot from them and am grateful for their hard work as well.

I hope y'all enjoy this little story! Reviews and favs are much appreciated as well :)

* * *

 **Rude Cowboys & Bad Beginnings**

Maka's toes curled into the wet mud as she watched Soul disappear into the dead of night. Inky black swallowed snowy white with every step he took further onto the property. The last thing she remembered seeing was him yanking off his hat and running a hand through his wild, matted hair in frustration, a behavior she had grown accustomed to since coming to the ranch. He did it when the producer insisted he continue the show, when the other girls refused to leave him alone, and when Maka told him to pick someone else.

It was a sign that he didn't know what to do.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw the other two girls, camera men, and producer glaring at her - blaming _her_ for the departure of their precious bachelor. Her heart plummeted down to her stomach as she blinked away the tears that pricked her eyes. It was her fault, she knew that, but she didn't need them to remind her through their vicious looks. She was aware that what she had said to him a few nights ago was wrong, but what else was she supposed to do?

Remnants of food still sat on the plates at the dining room table, the only sign of their meal from moments before the final rose ceremony. Her gaze flitted over it, though, as they instead fell on Wes. Soft blue eyes stared back at her, and his small smile warmed her cold, aching heart. Hope fluttered through her chest as he nodded outside, and she remembered the conversation they had the night before. It was clear what she was supposed to do now.

Facing the direction Soul had run off to, she took a careful step forward and walked until the darkness swallowed her as well.

* * *

 **8 weeks earlier…**

When her co-worker and supposed best friend had said Maka would be doing something she would never do in a million years, she thought it'd be something like sky-diving or traveling Europe alone. Something simple. Not once had she thought it would be _this_. Not once did she think her birthday present would involve her riding in the back of a tinted limo as it drove to an unknown location.

Not once did she think she'd be a contestant for The Bachelor!

Yet there she was. Wearing a strapless periwinkle dress that Liz had picked out special for the occasion, she was headed down a road that would take her to her possible future relationship.

Or husband.

God she was going to strangle the woman when they met again. The show seriously needed to reconsider its option to nominate someone for this hell hole excuse of reality TV. Maka enjoyed watching it on Monday nights curled up on her couch with a glass of wine, sure, but that was to ridicule the idiotic contestants since they were only there for the exposure. None of them cared about love or happily ever after. Their false tells of falling in love with the bachelor and wanting nothing more than to marry him were distorted. It was all an act for the cameras; to make America believe that finding your soulmate was quick and easy. She saw it in their hungry gazes, the petty catfights they started, and the unnecessary drama behind the show.

They didn't care about the bachelor. It was all about _them_.

This wasn't her.

Maka wasn't like the fame-chasing beauty queens that applied for the show.

The limo slowed to a steady stop, alerting Maka that they had arrived, and she waited for the driver to open the door for her. To be honest, limos weren't the high luxury vehicles television portrayed them as. They were far too small with uncomfortable seats and stuffy. She felt like she was suffocating.

When the door opened, she took the driver's hand and allowed him to help her out as her other hand carefully kept her dress from riding up. She refused to be front page news the next day by giving America a shot of her panties.

Settling on the dirt beneath her, she looked up to see that they weren't at a mansion like she had seen in past seasons. It was someone's actual home - a farm from what she could tell. There were four buildings on the property - two houses and two barns - spread out by a few acres or so. Grass of varying heights grew between the buildings, a few flowers poked out under the sea of green, and made way to small patches closer to her. In the studio lighting placed on the property, she was able to make out a small corral in the distance and more pasture, but nothing else. Dusk had already fallen and there was no moon present to illuminate the world around her.

Her gaze scoured the rest of the landscape before green eyes landed on the bachelor standing in front of her. He was a handsome young man in his boots, tight jeans, plaid shirt, and cowboy hat that hid his hair from view. He was the epitome of the classic western movies her grandpa used to watch before his passing. The only off putting thing about him were his crossed arms and grim face; he looked like someone had pissed in his soup. To be honest, the style wasn't really her type. He was cute, but she usually went for clean-cut boys who aspired to be lawyers or doctors.

Not _cowboys_.

Carefully, she made her way over to him, a mantra of left, right, left, right playing in her head as she walked in heels. The gravel beneath her crunched with each wobbly step she took. From either corner, she saw two men holding a camera each. One was trained on her while the other was on the bachelor. Behind them stood two other people each holding a microphone so that they could catch every sound she and the bachelor made. Maka tried to keep her cool as she was reminded that all of America - maybe the world - would see her make a fool of herself.

"Hi," she smiled while sticking her hand out to him. "I'm Maka Albarn."

He stared at her for a few seconds, one white brow cocked up in confusion, before he finally slid a warm and calloused hand in hers. "Soul Evans. Nice to meet you."

"You too."

She dropped her hand from his and they stood there staring at each other. He folded his arms in front his chest again and scowled.

A few of the lights were trained on him, but the brim of his hat shadowed his facial features. Even when she came up to his shoulder, she was only able to make out that his eyes were a dark color like brown - almost black. A very intriguing shade that she hadn't seen before.

"No interesting story?" he said, breaking their silence. "Or weird talent?"

"No," she said a little confused. "Was I supposed to have one?"

Soul shrugged. "Figured it was custom with this kinda thing."

"I can roll my tongue, if that counts as a weird talent."

He snorted. "That's not weird. Not compared to what I've seen from the others. Just makes you an above average human."

"In that case I'll be proud of my above average-ness," she smiled. Maka grabbed the edges of her skirt and did a mock bow that pulled a closed mouth grin from Soul.

"Cute," he said, placing his hands in his front pockets and leaning back a bit.

Heat prickled along the nape of her neck and along her collarbones before crawling up her throat. The man holding the camera trained on her had stepped back to catch the whole moment between them, and Maka's embarrassment was for whole other reason now. Not only had she done that in front of Soul, but the entire American population as well.

 _What the hell am I doing bowing like a damn idiot?! You know people are watching you right this minute, Maka! Don't give them something to laugh about!_

"Thank you."

Maka dropped her skirt and stood up straighter than before, but averted her gaze away from the cameramen and Soul. Instead, she stared at his faded gold belt buckle with a bull on the front while she pressed the toe of her heel into the dirt. She wanted nothing more than to be swallowed up by the ground beneath her and disappear. Not even five minutes on the show and she had already made a fool of herself. No doubt every gossip magazine was bound to eat up what she had done and plaster a screenshot of it on their cover once the show was broadcasted.

Who curtsied as a way of greeting in today's society?

"Don't mention it."

There was a slight movement from the sidelines that Maka was too slow to see, but he must have caught it because he sighed in annoyance. "The others are inside if you wanna get yourself acquainted with them. Be there in a few."

"Alright." She twiddled her thumbs in front of her, hoping the embarrassment would die down soon enough. "See you later, I guess."

Once inside, a woman in an all black outfit, an earpiece dangling off her ear, ushered her down a long hallway. High-pitched laughter floated down toward her, and her heart beat rapidly against her chest. The conversation with Soul had gone over smoothly - albeit with a few stupid mistakes on her part - but it was the girls she was more afraid of. From the past seasons she had watched, she knew they were superficial women whose actions were insincere so she wasn't sure if any of them were trustworthy. Or if they'd be nice to her right away or turn their noses up at her.

It felt like she was entering high school all over again, and she hated it.

* * *

It turned out to be easier than she had expected.

The girls treated her like an old friend that they hadn't seen in ages, and invited her into their group as if she were one of them. It wasn't like the sorority get-togethers Liz had dragged her to in college where she sat on the sidelines sipping from her red solo cup and wishing to be studying instead. They welcomed her with open arms and treated her as an equal rather than like she was beneath them. Even though all the girls for the show had the typical high-school-cheerleader-turned-model-turned-trophy-wife beauty going for them, none of them were snobby to her. Their dresses were designer and far fancier than her Macy's cocktail dress, but they didn't shun her for not spending an extra hundred bucks on her outfit.

Maka felt like she was part of the group, and regretted judging them before getting to know them. They weren't snobby, prep school girls who thought they were better than her; they were sweet, down-to-earth girls who were looking to find love.

"I'm a yoga instructor from Chicago," one bubbly blonde named Jenna told her. "I actually travelled around Europe for the last year, and when I came back, wanted to find my Prince Charming so here I am. Hoping to win the cute bachelor's heart like the other girls. What about you?"

She took a sip of her wine before speaking. "I graduated from Princeton with top marks, currently work at as a teacher up in New York City, and came on the show because my best friend nominated me."

"Wow! Princeton? That's amazing! Congratulations. Princeton's a great school to go to." Jenna paused and took a sip of her wine. When she spoke again, her perfectly plucked brows were knitted in confusion. "But you didn't apply for the show yourself?"

"Oh, no. Apparently you can nominate people for this type of thing, and my best friend has a tendency to play matchmaker sometimes. So, here I am."

"I see. And what about Soul, though? And love? Are you at least here for that as well?"

Chewing on her lip, Maka averted her gaze down to her wine glass and contemplated her answer. On the one hand, she could be honest and admit she didn't believe in love. But that didn't feel right. Liz had sent her here with the purpose of opening her heart to someone - to give love a chance for once in her life. She had even promised she would be more receptive when it came to the opposite sex and not run away.

Not every relationship ended in divorce.

"I'm not sure," she said, looking back up and smiling at the other woman. "But I'd be interested to see if there is anything between him and I."

Jenna smiled back and nodded. "Good. I wish you luck then."

"Thanks."

* * *

The girls became silent once they all arrived and Soul entered the room along with a blonde woman dressed in a black and gold tweed ensemble. She wore an earpiece and listened as someone spoke to her on the other side. Maka assumed this was the director or producer of the show who would be calling all the shots and pitting the girls against one another. Just because they advertised it as _reality tv_ didn't mean it actually was.

She stood on her tiptoes to get a better look at the bachelor, and her eyes bulged at the sight of him. His eyes weren't black or brown like she had previously assumed. Rather, they were a deep, dark red - similar to the roses he would be offering them as the weeks wore on. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to reveal nice, sun-kissed forearms, and white tufts of hair peeked out from beneath his hat. When he reached up to scratch his scalp, the gesture exposed more of it.

That was confusing.

Either he had Benjamin Button syndrome or he had never left his anime phase. No one in their right mind would actually have unnaturally white hair. Unless they were an old pervert who had only come on the show to get with a bunch of young girls because his dick was too wrinkled to get them otherwise. But that didn't make sense either. Soul's facial features were reminiscent of a young man who couldn't be older than herself - early thirties at the latest.

He stood silent as the lady next to him spoke to the girls.

"Welcome," the woman started. "My name is Marie Mjolnir, and I'm the producer of The Bachelor. I hope you ladies are as excited as I am for another great season of the show. Tonight we'll be having our first elimination round which is custom, of course. But before that happens you will each have some time to get to know Soul here and impress him to continue on. Sound good with everyone?"

There was a small nod of understanding among the girls, and Marie smiled.

"Good. The first girl will be," she checked her phone, "Miss Blair Wilkinson."

Blair - a well-endowed woman with black-almost-purple hair - excused herself to the front and followed Marie and Soul to another area of the house, leaving the others in the room to wait.

* * *

Swirling the champagne in her glass, Maka watched as the gold bubbles swished around inside and contemplated what to say when it was her turn. She had made a promise to Liz that she'd give love a chance, but at the same time she wasn't entirely sure if she was ready. Soul was handsome, yes, but looks weren't that important. He wasn't her type, but loving someone meant stepping outside her comfort zone.

But loving someone also meant heartbreak.

From an early age she had sworn off love because she knew the consequences of giving someone your whole heart and soul. She had promised herself a long time ago she'd never fall prey to its clutches. Love always ended in grief and betrayal; she knew that from personal experience.

The Bachelor wasn't a show designed for someone as cynical and cold-hearted like her.

Her turn came up, and the crewmember from earlier led her down the hallway again. They went outside onto the porch where candles were arranged around a single table with two chairs, one of which was occupied already. Crickets chirped out in the darkness, and owls talked amongst themselves to create a serene setting. It was different from what she was familiar with; cars honking and pedestrians bickering below her apartment window were nonexistent out here.

It might even be a little romantic if she ignored the watchful eyes of the camera crew as they stood on the sidelines.

"Hi," she smiled.

"Hey," he dully said. "Maka, right?" She nodded. There was a hint of a tiny smirk as the edges of his mouth tugged up. It vanished quickly, though, and she excused it as a trick of the light or her imagination. "The above average girl."

"It is I," she smiled while inwardly cringing at herself.

What the hell was her problem? Come onto a reality show where everyone is watching her every move, and she insists on making herself look like an idiot.

"Nice to finally have some normalcy. Sit down." He gestured to the seat in front of him, and she did so. "Tell me about yourself."

"What do you wanna know about me?" she asked.

"Anything. Where're you from? Why're you here? Anything." His gaze dropped down to the table and under his breath he muttered low enough for only her to hear, "Make the audience cry for you."

Her brows scrunched together. "What was that?"

"Hmm?" Soul looked back up, shook his head, and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms in front of him. "Nothing."

Maka opened her mouth to comment on what he had muttered, but closed it as she thought better. Maybe he had a bad experience with the girls who had come before her which was why he had said that. It didn't make sense that he'd be so rude. He seemed like a well put together man when she had met him only moments before.

Scooting herself closer to the table, she rested and folded her hands on top of it. "Well, I live in New York City in an apartment and work as a teacher. I'm an only child with no kids of my own, just a fuzzy little cat."

"You're a teacher?"

"Yeah. My mama was one of the best teachers in Nevada before she passed away when I was fifteen, and I wanna be just like her. Even better than her, actually."

Soul snorted and smirked to himself as he softly shook his head. Maka pursed her lips and glared at him.

"What's funny about that?"

"Nothing."

His eyes fell on her once again, the small candlelight making them look like ember in their glow. She stared at them as she tried to gauge why he'd act like that, but it was impossible. There was hardness to them that she couldn't quite breakthrough.

"So why'd you come here? To find _love_?"

It was the way he said 'love' - a nasty bite to it as if he were teasing the concept - that struck her the wrong way. She herself didn't believe in the abstract idea, but she was only a contestant on a show designed to help people find love. He was the person who was there to open his heart to these women and find his future wife because he _chose_ this. Surely he had to be more receptive to the concept than herself.

"Not originally," she started. "My friend back at home nominated me, but she had good reason to." At the slight quirk of his brow, she elaborated. "She's been bugging me for years to find someone, and I think she's right so here I am."

"You're not here for love?" he asked a little incredulous.

"No?" Her voice picked up near the end making her statement a question.

Something was off, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

He smirked, a playful twinkle in his eyes that only lasted a second. "You honestly want me to think you're not like those desperate women in there? Way to convince me. Remind me to applaud you later."

Her blood boiled over the fact that he believed her and the others were really that shallow. Especially after she had rid herself of the same prejudiced views only moments before by getting to know them.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" she spat out. "Of course we're all here for love - that's the whole point of this show! But those women aren't desperate in the slightest! They're all very nice and not shallow like you're making them out to be. You'd know that if you got to know them. Which you obviously haven't if you've treated them all the same way you have me."

"Playing hard to get. Cute, but not really my thing."

"I'm not playing hard to get," she growled. "You're rude and insufferable. You've given me no reason to try and impress someone like yourself since I sat down. What happened to the guy I met earlier? He seemed nice."

Soul's gaze briefly shifted to the camera behind her before moving to her once again. He took his hat off, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms. His mouth was turned up in a small scowl as he stared at her. She sensed a slight change in his attitude that didn't translate into his body language. Like he was trying to hide something from her or their audience that he wasn't ready to reveal yet.

She was willing to give him another chance - having cameras watch you while trying to get to know someone was nerve-wracking already - but then he spoke again.

"Women are so gullible sometimes."

Maka growled and squinted her eyes. She stood up from the table, scraping her chair harshly against the floor, grabbed her glass and tossed the drink inside at him.

"That's for being a dick," she said as red droplets fell down his face. "You're the worst bachelor ever, and I seriously hope you end up with _no one_ because women everywhere deserve someone better than you."

Maka whirled around on her heel and stormed back inside. She was aware of the cameraman following closely behind her, and she wanted nothing more than to scream at him to leave her alone. But after what happened with Soul, she didn't want America to deem her as some loon woman who lost her temper at the drop of the hat. That was definitely not something she needed when she went back home.

"How'd it go?" Blair asked her once she reentered the room everyone else was in. "By the look on your face I'd say not so well?"

She picked up another wine glass off one of the tables - this show seriously had too much alcohol for her taste but when in Rome and all - and downed it before responding. "He's an insufferable dickbag who's definitely not worth my time."

"Yeah, you're not the only one who thinks that." Blair took a sip of her drink. "He was kinda rude to everyone from what I heard. Said I dressed a little too promiscuous for his taste."

Glancing down at the other woman's dress, Maka actually didn't blame Soul for his comment. Blair had chosen a gold dress that revealed a good portion of her chest and the slit barely touched her belly button. It wasn't her own taste, but it did suit Blair quite well. Not so much appropriate for a classy show like The Bachelor, though.

Either way, Soul's comment was uncalled for.

"Add misogynistic pig to the list as well then," Maka commented. "I had always thought Texas boys were supposed to be nice, but I guess I was wrong."

"There are some gems out there, but Soul doesn't seem to be one of them. Did he also mention to you that he won't be kissing any of us?"

"Really?" Maka felt her brows rise in disbelief.

"Mhm."

"God he is so full of himself. As if anyone would wanna kiss him after the way he's treated all of us." Maka shook her head. "I really hope he sends me home tonight. There's no way I am willing to stay here if he's the person I have to fall in love with."

"Don't blame you. How do the producers expect us to fall in love with someone who belittles us and isn't willing to give us a chance. If they wanted to go with the cowboy aspect this year, they could have chosen someone else. I've been with plenty of ranch boys to know that they are nothing like Soul." Blair sighed and took another drink of her wine. "He made poor Jenna cry."

"How?"

"Dunno," she shrugged. "But she hasn't come out of the bathroom since you left. When I checked up on her, she sounded like she was still crying."

Shaking her head, Maka said, "That man is the worst. Pretty sure this is gonna be their worst season yet. No one in their right mind would fall for a man as insensitive as him."

Blair nodded in agreement and changed the subject to something that didn't deal with the stick-up-his-ass cowboy.

* * *

Before the rose ceremony started, the producer herded Maka and the girls into a parlor off the dining room where a platform was already set up. Marie put the tallest girls in the back while the shortest ones stood in front. Standing right in the middle, Maka glanced around at the others and noticed how tall and gorgeous they were. Hopefully Soul wasn't the man he presented himself as earlier, and was actually a sincere guy under all of it because the others definitely deserved someone better.

She silently wondered to herself if any of them would be the one to win his stupid, arrogant cowboy heart.

"Good evening, ladies," the host greeted. He was another handsome man in a black suit with perfect posture, typical for the course of The Bachelor. "You have each met this season's bachelor tonight, Soul Evans, and have hopefully made a good first impression. There are ten of you here, but only nine roses. One of you lovely ladies will be heading back home tonight, and your journey for true love ends here. So if you're ready, here's Soul."

He walked off as the bachelor walked in and stood in his place. Maka noticed he had changed out of the shirt she soaked, and a smile spread across her face. Served him right for being such a jerk. His bored eyes glanced off to the side, and with his jaw set in a deep scowl, Soul turned back toward the girls and began his speech.

"I'm happy to have met each one of you tonight," he started. His voice was monotone, and Maka got the vibe that he was being forced to say something nice. "You are each special in your own way, but as much as it pains me, I can only pick nine of you to go on. So let's start handing out these stupid-"

A cough from the sidelines made him pause and roll his eyes.

"I mean these beautiful roses."

Picking up the first one, he glanced across the two rows of women who Maka was sure were all smiling before landing on her. The side of his mouth pulled up into a smirk as her heart lurched of its own accord. She glared at him, daring him to say her name. There was no way in hell she was going to be accepting that rose. He wasn't appealing to her in the slightest, and she was more than positive he despised her as well. The nasty words she had said to him should have left a large enough wound for him to think better.

But, despite what her thoughts and heart were telling her, a small part within her secretly hoped he did say her name, and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why.

"M-" No, this wasn't happening. "-eredith."

A small sigh of relief escaped from her.

She watched as Meredith - a vivacious brunette - bounced down and walked across the carpet in heels to take the flower from his grasp. She leaned in to kiss his cheek, but Soul swerved away from her by distracting himself with the next rose. Trying to brush off the embarrassment, she walked toward the side and stood there in wait for the other bachelorettes. Her cheeks tinted red as she pretended she didn't notice a single thing, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, and Maka giggled into her hand.

So he wasn't lying when he said he wouldn't be kissing anyone.

Not even a peck on the cheek.

Interesting.

One by one the girls were called, a red rose handed to them, and each time, she noticed how Soul kept his gaze on her. She shifted her weight as she stood there, trying to ignore his eyes boring into her, but it was no use. Every time she tried to look elsewhere, she kept going back to looking at him. It didn't make sense why he insisted on looking at her with each name that was called, especially if it wasn't hers.

Even if he wasn't going to kiss anyone on air, he was still an ass! He probably enjoyed teasing her like that.

As he grabbed the last rose, Maka stood up straighter and flicked the few strands of hair resting on her shoulder toward the back.

Only two girls remained now: her and another blonde. She reminded herself that beneath the promises and words she had expressed earlier, she still didn't believe in love and the rose meant nothing. Soul was a rude man that no one could ever love - not even his own mother. He had been arrogant and nasty to her and the other girls. He might be a tad handsome, but he was only a stupid, cocky bull rider who didn't deserve to be this year's bachelor. Soon she'd be going home and watching this lame show in the comfort of her own home like the rest of America.

But even as she told herself that, a little voice inside her told her otherwise. There had been something different between the Soul she first met and the Soul she had talked to. They didn't feel like the same person. It seemed more like an act - like something she'd do if she were the bachelorette on a bogus show like this. His soul was kinder than what he presented to her. She felt it in her gut.

"You both are wonderful girls," he said in the same monotonous voice as before," but sadly one of you must go."

His gaze dropped down to the rose as he twirled the beautiful flower between his fingers. He glanced back up with a soft smile on his lips as he stared right at her. Maka braced herself for the inevitable rejection, already deciding on what to say when she left. If she should tear apart the whole false advertising of the entire show itself or not. Or mention that it was impossible to fall in love with someone after eight weeks.

"Maka."

She blinked.

Unsure if she had heard him right or not, she turned to look at the other girl behind her, but the look on her face was incredulous as well. Maka turned to look back at Soul, her mouth slightly open and her brows knitted together. She wanted to ask why or if he was insane, but nothing came out; she only stood there completely shocked.

He chuckled lowly to himself, his brows raising slightly as he watched her. Marie, who was standing on the sidelines, motioned for Maka to step forward. She crossed the threshold to take the rose from Soul, their fingers barely touching as they each held onto the stem. His gaze was warm and kind as he smirked down at her.

"Maka, will you accept this rose as a symbol of my love?"

She wanted to say no - she really did - but she didn't.

"Yes."


	2. Tasty Macaroons & Musical Tastes

**Tasty Macaroons & Musical Tastes**

The girls spent the rest of the week getting better acquainted with each other and settling into their new home. It was a charming little guest house with three large bedrooms that each held two bunk beds for the girls. One of Maka's roommates was the yoga instructor, Jenna, she had met the first night, and the other was Meredith. They were both sweet, down-to-earth women - more so Jenna than Meredith, who had a nasty bite in her voice even when she said anything remotely nice. They both had high chances of winning the competition, though. It all depended who Soul fell for, if anyone.

They were also allowed to explore the property which turned out to be exactly what she expected: a farm.

Large rolling green pastures went on in either direction, luscious rows of bright yellow sunflowers, and animals grazing along the tall grass in the distance. Maka was definitely far from home. A thicket of trees surrounding the property replaced the tall buildings she knew so well. Cows, chickens, and horses took the place of loud pedestrians below her apartment window. A warm, honeyed smell in the air that reminded her of fresh baked apple pies and sipping sweet tea on the boardwalk in summer cleared the smog from her mind.

A city girl like her could get used to this.

Soul and Marie showed up at their front door around midday at the start of the second week to announce their first challenge. Custom to the show, challenges were how girls battled against each other to have one-on-one time with the bachelor and up their chances of winning. Usually it was something simple such as a scavenger hunt, but other times they were designed to embarrass the girls like mud wrestling.

Lucky for Maka and the girls, though, their challenge was a soccer match.

On a field opposite the farm where there were no animals to interrupt them, the women were split up into two uneven teams of four against five. Faint white lines had been painted on the grass to mark the different sides, and they stood on opposite ends of the makeshift soccer field. They all wore black shorts, tennis shoes, and either a bright orange or yellow tank top to separate the two teams. Glancing over the women across from her, Maka noted that they all had their game faces on. Each of them were determined to be the winner of the group date with the bachelor so as to double their chances of winning his heart.

But, little did they know, she was ready to win as well.

It wasn't so much to woe Soul or to break through his defenses, though. She had her own personal agenda to win. Part of that was because she was a naturally competitive person in general, and another part was because she was curious to know why Soul wanted her to stay. He had been rude and arrogant to her while she had been equally mean to him. Throwing a drink on someone usually resulted in an elimination from any sane man, but Soul had given her a rose.

Of course, there was always the chance she would be booted off the show that week or the next, but still. It didn't make sense why Soul had chosen her over the other girl whom she was positive was nicer to him than herself. So why did he want her to stay?

* * *

A race gun shot off in the distance warning the girls to begin, and Maka immediately hit the dirt running. Green eyes remained trained on the ball as it was passed between players on the opposite team until she found her chance to steal it. Sprinting faster, she ran between the girl who had the ball and the one she was passing it to and diverted its path toward the opposite goal. She sensed the two girls hot on her trail as well as other players. Quickly glancing around her, she saw that there was only one other girl who was on her team keeping pace with her. However, there wasn't an opening for her to pass the ball to her.

There was only thing for her to do: distract the others.

Maka was quick on her feet as she made to pass the ball to her teammate only to stop it from going even inches away from her and turning its path in the opposite direction. The other girls fell for her rouse as they went left at the same time Maka went right. Her teammate was the only one who hadn't fallen for the trick which gave her the perfect opportunity to pass the ball to her. She kept her gaze on the other girl as she controlled the ball down the field toward the goal - being sure none of the others tried to steal it.

Her teammate with the ball had a clear line of shot to get the first goal of the game. Maka watched as the black and white ball zoomed into the air, curving as it came back to the ground, and flew over the goalies shoulder who had jumped in the opposite direction to catch it. The girls on Maka's team cheered as they gained the first point of the game and clapped the goalmaker on the back before starting another round.

They ended up winning six to four thanks to a couple of the players on the team having been previous soccer players - including Maka. She had been on her college's soccer team which was how she had been able to pay for college all those years and save up to live on her own afterward. Her skills that she learned then had proven to be useful for the show, a fact she never would have guessed.

The girls celebrated that night with drinks in the kitchen of the guest house. Maka felt her prejudiced views from the beginning start to disappear into thin air as she grew closer to the bachelorettes she was meant to be competing against. They weren't superficial Barbie dolls from California, but rather homely girls who had the best intentions for everyone. None of them seemed ready to claw another girl's eyes out in order to bring herself up in the competition of winning Soul's heart.

Everyone brought each other up rather than dragged them down, and Maka was grateful for it.

* * *

Mid-way through the celebration, Maka entered the room off to the side that had a sign above it in block letters that spelled out 'CONFESSIONAL'. She closed the door behind her and sat down on the stool that was provided for them in front of a green screen. There was a camera sitting on a tripod in front of her, a studio light shining on her behind it, and black curtains draped on the wall that weren't in shot. Before clicking the camera on, she adjusted her hair so that she didn't look so wild from the soccer match.

A few pieces of blonde stuck out of her ponytail and there were specks of dirt dusting her hair from what she saw in the reflection of the camera screen. There was even a streak of mud across her cheek from when she had slid on the ground to stop the ball at one point. Her uniform also looked like it belonged in a Tide commercial. Grass stains and mud stained the shirt the show had provided her, but she still smiled at her appearance.

She wasn't camera ready or glamified. She didn't feel like someone she was pretending to be, either. She felt like Maka Albarn.

Clicking the camera on, she began her little confession.

"Not gonna lie, but I did have my own views of the girls before coming onto this competition. I had watched the show at home and always thought how ridiculous some of them were and how idiotic it was to see how far they'd go to win a man's attention. The show itself was a good laugh, though." She waved her hands in front of her in an apology. "No offense."

Pausing, she licked her lips.

"But after getting to know the other girls today, I don't think that anymore. Maybe it's the slight buzz from the wine, but they're all so sweet and down to earth, and I think they all have a good chance of winning. Even if I do think Soul still doesn't deserve a single one of them, and they all can do so much better."

Maka blinked a few times as she stared at the beeping red light on top. Her body felt lighter from the amount of wine she had drank at the party, and her head slightly buzzed as well. She needed to eat some bacon or oatmeal in the morning to cure the hangover she was bound to have.

"That's all I have to say," she shrugged.

Leaning forward, she clicked the camera off and left the confession room to go to bed. Luckily she didn't need to eat anything special for a hangover the next day because there wasn't one. Liz had always said she was one of the lucky ones who got buzzed on alcohol, but knew her limit so as to prevent one from happening.

She ate a quick breakfast before getting dressed and ready for her date later that day.

* * *

They rode in the limousine as it drove away from the property and into town to a five-star spa. The entire day was spent with well-trained masseuses, tranquil music, and complimentary alcoholic beverages. It was nice to have girls time that mostly dealt with talking amongst themselves about the most mundane things and giggling about the dumbest things. It was a comfortable and inviting situation for Maka. She felt like she was back home with Tsubaki and Liz during one of their many and much needed girl nights. None of the other women were malicious like she had originally believed, and it was nice to know that.

Of course, it would have been better had the cameras _not_ been there watching their every move and trying to catch any hints of potential bait for future cat fights. That may have prevented her from opening too much around the others about her personal life as well. While she did like having time to be herself, the gentle reminder of cameras being shoved in her face left a sickening feeling in her stomach that made the wine and champagne more tempting.

It was hard being herself when every little move was being taped.

However, none of it seemed to bother Soul in the slightest.

He was at the spa as well, but he mostly sat on one of the massage chairs with his arms crossed, a pouty face, and not associating with anyone. The spa employees attempted to persuade him into a massage, but he only responded with light grunts and noncommittal shrugs. Even when Marie had walked over to him with a slightly mad gleam in her gaze as she chided him to be more social with the girls, he only responded by slouching more in his chair and grumbling something under his breath.

In past seasons of The Bachelor, the man had always participated in the activities with the bachelorettes until it was time for their one-on-ones. They usually loved it when the women threw themselves all over him and adored the attention. But Soul was the complete opposite; he was as sociable and approachable as an irritable badger.

Maka had forgotten he was even there until Marie announced that the one-on-ones with him would be commencing soon.

She anxiously waited for her turn to speak to Soul. It was weird, though. At first she hadn't wanted to come onto the show. The only reason she was there was because Liz had pushed her to - bribed her with the promise of covering her teaching duties to the best of her ability while she was away if she did. Now, though, she wanted to be in the competition. Not for finding love, exactly, but more so for her own burning curiosity to know why Soul had given her a rose rather than a boot back home.

Her turn finally arrived, and she followed one of the crew members to a back room where Soul was waiting.

The room itself was set up differently compared to their first exchange. White curtains were draped along the walls with one corner of the room saved for a running waterfall and tranquil, soothing music played through the speakers. It had probably been one of the spa rooms, but everything had been cleared out for the show.

In place of the massage beds, there was a single eggshell table set up in the middle of the room. On top of it sat a cupcake holder with different sweets on it, two tea cups, and pastel napkins with swirls in the corner. The colors blended with each other to give off a nice setting as if she were having tea with the queen minus the corgis.

In place of the queen herself, was Soul who looked completely out of place in his cowboy getup, and Maka giggled internally at the sight of him.

"Hi again," she smiled as she sat down in front of him. She was still a little apprehensive about speaking to him again, but was also more relaxed thanks to the day at the spa. Soul leaned back in his chair and nodded in response.

They sat in silence until one of the ladies came to fill Maka's cup with tea.

Water trickling down from the waterfall, the music from the speakers, and the occasional coughs from the camera people were the only sounds that filled the quiet. Maka studied Soul and noted that his demeanor wasn't very welcoming. He scowled at her with a permanent wrinkle between his brows and arms crossed in front of his chest. Wasn't a very lively man even when he was supposed to be. She silently wondered to herself why he had even come on a show like this if he wasn't going to be interactive with the women he was meant to fall in love with.

A small sigh left her lips as she picked her cup up to take a sip before setting it back down.

"So, are you having fun?" she asked.

The corner of his mouth pulled up into a slight smirk. "Honestly?" She nodded. "No, not really. Watching girls get pampered isn't really my thing."

"Then why don't you join us?"

"Being touched by strangers isn't my thing either."

She smiled. "You don't really seem like a spa kind of man."

"What kinda man do you think I am?" There was a playful tone surrounding his voice, and his carmine eyes twinkled with merriment.

Maka's smile faltered slightly. She really wasn't quite sure what kind of man he was exactly. He had been nice when she first met him, but then later that first night had been rude and arrogant towards her. Even now sitting in front of him it felt like a whole different Soul. Their conversation felt more light-hearted; not at all hostile like before. He had pissed her off with her behavior, but also amazed her by giving her the final rose.

It was all really confusing. Who was the real Soul?

"I'm not sure," she said. She slid back in her chair and gauged him. "One minute you're talking to me civilly, the next you're acting like I killed you in another life, and then you're back to the first. Which are you: nice or arrogant asshole?"

That caught him off guard.

Soul's eyes bulged a bit before going back to normal. Throwing a quick look at the cameras, he leaned forward on the table and picked at one of the pink macarons in the middle.

"These things are stupid," he commented.

Her head tilted in confusion. She stared at him, the macarons, and back to him. "Huh?"

"Pretty packaging, but they aren't that good," he simply stated.

She glanced over the sweet holder again. Sure they were pretty and made her feel like a princess when she ate them, but they were actually quite delicious. Each one held a different fresh flavor in the middle like hand picked strawberries straight off the vine surrounded by cream and sat between two flaky cookies to give it a crunch. They weren't false advertising, though. They were tasty sweets that she liked to have with coffee and a good book on Sunday mornings.

"I think macarons are good, actually." Leaning on the table as well, she said, "Are you seriously trying to change the subject? Because I'm not gonna let go of the fact that you were an asshole to me the other night and now you're being nice again. You're more confusing than politics."

He smirked. "Thought Princeton people knew everything 'bout politics."

"Just because I graduated from Princeton doesn't mean anything. I just _went_ there, but majored in English and art. I never took but one politics class." She closed her eyes and lowly growled. "Stop getting me sidetracked and answer my question!"

"I did," he whispered.

"Huh?"

"Don't worry 'bout it." He leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Anyways, you left yesterday before I could get to know you. Tell me 'bout yourself."

Maka opened her mouth to push more about the change in his demeanor the other day, but decided against it. Side-eyeing the cameras, she guessed they had something to do with it. Maybe she'd get the chance to ask him when they were alone. _If_ they ever found the time to be alone.

"What do you wanna know about me?" she asked, shrugging as she did so.

"Uh, music?" he asked, slightly unsure of himself. "That a good place to start?"

"You don't do small talk often, do you?" she smiled.

He grimaced. "Not really a necessity in my line of work."

"What is your line of work exactly?" She placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin in the palm of her hands. "There aren't many bull riders up in New York so I'm curious."

"Well, it's exactly what it sounds like. I ride bulls professionally half the year and help out at the ranch the rest of it."

"I've never watched bull riding. Is it - is it dangerous? I mean I would imagine so since you're basically riding an animal that's pissed off and can put its horns into you. But have you ever been hurt doing it?"

His face grimaced as his hand rose to rub against his chest. "You can say that."

"Was it bad?"

"Knocked me out for two months."

"But you're okay now?"

"It happened five years ago, so I'm okay now."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-eight. You?"

"Twenty-five," she said.

A moment of silence passed between them. She took a sip of her tea and grabbed a green macaron she hoped was pistachio flavored. Soul stroked his finger lazily along the edge of his cup as he watched, a small twinkle in his eyes. Maka felt like she was being scrutinized under his gaze - as if he were sizing her up for some reason or other. Then again it was understandable. They were in the middle of a competition which meant he did have to choose which girl he wanted to stay and who was going home that week.

"I don't think I could do it. The bull riding," she supplied as an afterthought. "It's abusive to the animal, and I'd be putting my life on the line for a brief moment of entertainment."

"You get used to it," he said. The camera guy on their left checked his watch, pulling both Soul and Maka's attention to him and reminding them that they only had a limited time together. Soul turned back to her and half-smiled. "What do you do for a living?"

Maka tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm an elementary school teacher."

"You like kids more than teens?" he smiled.

"I do, actually. Their minds are still ready to learn about the world, and it's nice to have them be excited when I teach."

"Most people go for teaching high school so that's good."

"Thank you."

There was another small moment of silence between them. Maka nibbled on another macaron while Soul scratched beneath his jaw and sighed.

"So," he began, "what kinda music are you into?"

Sighing and preparing herself for the worst, she said a little cautiously, "I like dubstep."

She had been dreading the question since he originally brought it up because there had been too many times in her life where her taste in music had been ridiculed. Of course everyone was entitled to their own taste, but that didn't mean they had to tell her how awful they thought hers was. Everyone had a different musical palate that others should respect.

"Like Skrillex and Deadmau5?" he asked.

"Yeah."

His face scrunched up in distaste, and he rolled his eyes.

"I know what you're thinking," she quickly interjected. "My friend tells me all the time that it isn't real music and I should listen to other genres, but I like it! And I think that's good enough, right? It's not like I'm forcing anyone else to adhere to my taste in music or anything."

Soul's nostrils flared out as he laughed through his nose like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He leaned on the table and stared at her. Red eyes twinkled in amusement as he said, "Dubstep isn't music, Maka. It's noise that people try to pass off as music, but it's not. It's awful." He moved away from her and chuckled. "You have horrid taste."

Instinctively, she puffed out her cheeks and fought back the urge to kick him. "It's not like that's the only music I listen to. I like other artists as well, you know. More mainstream than hipster, but that just means they're good."

"Like Taylor Swift?" he correctly guessed.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing." Soul raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Unless sappy country pop songs are your thing, nothing."

"Taylor Swift doesn't only sing about break ups and love. She has songs about other things too, and she isn't _sappy_. She's really good." He smirked. "And aren't you a cowboy?"

Soul shrugged. "I'm a bull rider and live on a farm. What do you think?"

She blinked in confusion, but then his answer became clear and she sighed. "Sarcasm aside, please."

"I thought you needed more proof since my getup didn't make it clear."

"You're an ass, you know that?"

His mouth tugged up into a more genuine grin to reveal a set of sharp white teeth. She made a mental note to ask him about that at another time when the conversation was more socially acceptable for it. Along with his hair color.

"That's nice of you to say. I'm touched."

Maka rolled her eyes and huffed. "You're unbelievable."

A few seconds passed before he sighed. "Yes. I am a country boy, but that doesn't necessarily mean I like country music. It isn't really my thing."

She nodded. "So you don't like Taylor Swift, dubstep, or country music. What do you like then, Mister Music Snob?"

" _Music Snob_?" he snorted. "That's a little harsh."

"You've ridiculed the music that I like this entire time, and calling you a music snob is harsh?" she scoffed.

"I've only dissed your music because it's horrid and you need an intervention." He grinned. "Desperately if you ask me."

"I didn't. I think my _musical palette_ is good as is."

"I'll disagree."

"Are you the music police or something? Did someone die and give you the license to judge others taste in music?"

"No, I just know what good music sounds like is all."

"That's what makes you a music snob!" She sighed exasperatedly, scooted her chair back, and stood up to leave. "You know, I don't have to take this. Don't bother giving me a rose because I won't be accepting it. I refuse to be with someone like you. You're lucky I'm feeling nice this time or else you'd have scalding hot tea in your face."

She turned on her heel and had every intent of leaving the bull rider behind, but was stopped before she walked two steps away. Glaring down at her wrist, she saw Soul's hand wrapped around her, holding her back, and turned her gaze on him. His eyes were softer than before - less guarded. Maka felt her own wall fall and a feeling of wanting to comfort him overcame her, but she fought against it. He had been rude to her; nothing excused that.

Not even her own need to care for every wounded animal that crossed her path.

" _What_?"

"Look, I'm sorry for what I said." His hand fell from hers, and his tone was more sincere, less harsh than before. "That was really rude of me. A lady such as yourself doesn't deserve to be talked to like that."

"Oh, so now you're apologizing?"

He shrugged. "That's what most people do when they've hurt someone else."

Maka opened her mouth to ask for a good reason she should stay, but closed it as she thought better of it. She didn't want to give him a chance to plead his case or beg her to stay. Her papa had done enough gravelling to her mama when he screwed around, and she had seen her mama take him back one too many times afterwards to know that a man never changed.

"I promise I won't be rude to you anymore?" he asked, his voice rising near the end.

Then again, Soul wasn't exactly like her papa either. He didn't implore her to forgive him right away nor did he swoon over every bachelorette on the farm.

She mulled it over for a few seconds, grinding the inside of her cheek between her teeth as she did. The camera people quietly maneuvered themselves around to catch her reaction. They were probably wondering if she'd have another outburst like she had the last time, but something felt different about Soul. His aura wasn't the same as it had been before. There wasn't a crack in his tone or demeanor that told her he thought against the words he had said.

The next she knew it, her rear was touching the soft cushion of her chair again.

"If you're like that again, I won't hesitate to walk out of here," she growled. "After this, there are no other chances."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Soul drummed his fingers against the tabletop while Maka took a sip of her tea. It was bitter and not at all how she usually liked it, so she set it down and made a mental note to drink some water after this.

"Jazz music," he said, breaking their silence.

"Huh?"

"Jazz. That's what kinda music I like."

She nodded. "Like Miles Davis or Adele?"

"Miles Davis." He blinked and leaned forward, eyes shining with hope. "You know who Miles Davis is?"

Maka slid in her chair slightly and only felt a _little_ disappointed that she was about to burst his bubble. "Not exactly. My friend, Liz, listens to jazz, and that's how I know of him. I tried listening to his music once, but never really understood it."

"Oh," was all he said. A small, broken 'Oh'. "I guess we might have a problem then. I could never be with a girl who didn't like jazz music."

She was about to chide him for being a dick again, but caught the hint of teasing in his voice and countered with her own version. "And I can't be with someone who doesn't like Taylor Swift."

"We have a lot of issues for two people who've barely only begun," he joked.

"We do." Maka leaned forward and stage whispered, "You know that means we won't end well. Might as well cut this before we go any further."

"Yeah, but I hear endings are the best part."

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed and pink lightly dusted his cheeks as he stared at her. She wasn't completely sure what meaning his words held for her or why he reacted in such a way, but she did find it entertaining how blatant his emotions showed once he let his guard down even a little.

"But if it isn't gonna end well, then our ending won't be so happy," she said.

"Don't know if you don't try?"

Maka licked her lips and traced her finger along the handle of her cup. Soul had been rude to her the last time they spoke and the beginning of their conversation now, but he seemed to have loosened up a bit. After she had shown him she wasn't going to be taking any of his shit, his guard dropped a bit. She saw it in the way he looked at her, heard it in his voice, and felt it in his soul. He wasn't the person he had been presenting to her and the others these last few days, and she was curious to find out the truth.

Smiling, she said, "We'll see."

"Fantastic." His voice held more emphasis on both 'a's as if he were drawing them out, like the southern accents she had heard once before.

Maka's brows furrowed in confusion while his eyes bulged. Though he was from the south, he hadn't shown any signs of having a typical accent so she wasn't entirely sure she had heard him correctly. Shaking her head, she concluded she was hearing things and continued talking to Soul instead.

They spent the rest of their alone time talking about shared interests and teasing the other about their poor taste in things.

She found out they both loved the works of the same artist who went under the penname Lord Death; they agreed the sharp angles and weird poses of his drawings were interesting and different from others in his field. Soul told her he loved cool indy films while she chided him for his lack of horror movie experience. He didn't care much about reading while she loved it; she loved rainy days and he loved sunny days. They were polar opposites in everything that didn't matter, and the same in what did.

The conversation flowed nicely between them which led Maka to forget she was on a televised game show. Even with the mics and cameras being pointed in her face, they had somehow blended in with the background. Soul had even appeared to have forgotten about them as well, visibly relaxing in his chair during their conversation. It wasn't until the woman from earlier came back that she remembered she was in a competition to win the man's heart.

Maka smiled at Soul, bid him farewell, and stood up to exit the room. Before she left, though, she turned around and asked him the question that had been bothering her for too long.

"Soul."

He was staring blankly at the sweets in front of him, a small smile playing on his lips, but at the sound of her voice, it disappeared. The stoic, grim face she had come to associate with him trying to hide his emotions was back again. She lightly shook her head. Soul was an easy person to read when he had his guard down and forgot he was being watched.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you give me a rose?"

His brows knit together before they relaxed and he smiled, tugging down on his hat and casting his gaze down. "Because you weren't afraid to tell me I was being an ass."

She opened her mouth to say more, but closed it when she wasn't sure _what_ to say. There wasn't anything else for her to elaborate on. Instead, she nodded and left the room.

But before she could leave completely, he threw her a quick apology.

"And sorry for _being_ an ass to you the other night and today."

Maka smiled at that, mouthed a 'thank you', and was ushered out of the room for the next bachelorette to come in.

As she walked down the hallway, the woman dressed in black caught her up on what the girls had been doing during her absence, but her voice was drowned out by Maka's own thoughts. Soul's tiny sentiment had been sweet and warmed her heart. Maybe he really wasn't such a bad guy after all.

* * *

Maka was the last one to exit the limo when they arrived back on the property.

Night had already fallen over the quiet ranch and the sliver of moon shining above lit the path for them. The girls walked a few steps ahead of her as Maka dragged behind, not really wanting to join in their hen talk at that moment. She watched as the camera crew unloaded their equipment from another vehicle not far from the limo as they retired for the night. It wasn't like they needed to tape the girls, anyways; there were already several _hidden_ cameras placed around the house for that.

Behind her, she heard a truck drive up a few feet away from where the limo dropped them off. The front door opened and closed as the driver exited, and the gravel crunched underneath as they walked away from her and the others. She didn't have to look behind her to know who it was. Soul had left the spa a few minutes after them so it was obvious he'd arrive a little after them as well. Instead of focusing on him, though, she turned her attention back to the girls in front of her and continued walking.

A crisp voice broke across the field and a faint warmth spread across her chest at the sound.

"Hey, Maka!" Soul called out.

She turned around. He motioned for her to come over to him, and she reluctantly did so. It wasn't that long of a walk for someone who was used to travelling around New York City, but she was slightly annoyed that he called her over. Truth be told, she was tired from the day's activities and really wanted to take a bath and sleep.

When she reached him, she noticed that one hand was covering his pants pocket and appeared to be toying with something in there. His fingers moved along the fabric in a rubbing motion before pausing. She silently prayed that he wasn't planning on showing her anything she didn't need to see so soon.

They were definitely far, far, _far_ away from that stage of their relationship.

"Hey, Soul," she smiled. "Were you just getting back?"

"Yeah, I had to stop somewhere in town real quick." The hand that wasn't over his pocket rose, and he scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry. I know you're getting ready to go inside, but I wanted to give you this."

He fished around his pocket, and pulled out a black iPod touch and handed it to her. She took it, flipped it over, and looked back up at him.

"Thanks, but what for?"

He smirked. "Remember I said you had bad taste in music? Gonna introduce you to something better. Listen to the playlist on there titled 'Black Room'. I think you might like that one."

Maka glanced down at the iPod again, and then back at Soul, smiling. "You're that determined that I listen to good music that you'll give me your iPod?"

"Eh, it's more like borrowing it." He stuffed his hands in his jean pockets and shrugged. "Tell me what you think later on."

"I will."

With that, he nodded and walked to the main house while Maka went to the guest house.

* * *

That night, when she and the girls were sitting around in the living room, the ones that had gone to the spa told the others about how it went. They shared stories of the nice employees and being pampered for the day as well as their alone time with Soul. Each one had a different tale. For a few, he had been aloof and rolled his eyes when the girls attempted to get to know him, and they felt like he didn't care. A couple had similar experiences to Maka's, but he wasn't as engaging with them as he had been with her.

When her turn rolled around to share, Maka sipped her water - because no way was she drinking _more_ wine - and contemplated what to share with them.

"What about you, Maka? How was your time with Soul?" Blair asked. "Was he a little grumpy pants for you too?"

She licked her lips and shook her head. "No. We talked about music and movies and found out we liked the same artist, but that was it. It wasn't much of anything, to be honest, but it was nice."

"Did he give you something when we came back?" Nicole, one of Meredith's friends, asked. "Because I saw him call you over to him before you came inside."

"Um, yeah?"

"What was it?"

"Just his iPod." Her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. She wasn't entirely sure if she was supposed to be sharing this with them or not. "He said there was some music he wanted me to listen to."

"Sounds like he was more talkative with you," Nicole commented, spite and jealousy obvious in her tone.

"I saw him after you," Meredith started, "and he seemed to be in a better mood compared to this morning. Seems like it was a really good talk. It must be nice to have the bachelor wrapped around your finger already." The next bit she mumbled to herself, but everyone still heard her. "Probably only keeping you for one reason."

Maka blinked.

Was she seriously implying what she thought she was?

"Excuse me?"

"Hm?" Meredith's attention turned back to her, eyes wide and mouth tightly closed as if she didn't know what Maka was questioning.

"What was that last thing you said?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing, sweetheart. I just said that's really nice that Soul likes you."

"Right," she nodded.

But she knew that wasn't the case.

Glancing at the other girls faces, she felt they shared the same feelings as well. As if it were her fault that she and Soul got along so well because it wasn't. It wasn't her fault that he treated her differently than them. How he acted around the other girls was completely out of her hands. She had no control over him; he was his own person. And if that meant he preferred being himself with her than the other girls, then that was on him, not her. The others had to realize that instead of throwing all the blame on her.

Falling in love with Soul wasn't even her current intention.

She excused herself to her room and went straight to bed, popping her earphones into the iPod to listen to Soul's playlist. It turned out to be a mix between piano medleys and jazz music. The piano songs were the ones that intrigued her the most. They each started out with a loud, smashing of the keys by the performer before turning into a manic sound that left her feeling unnerved. It was a deafening, frightening noise that should have scared her, but it didn't. There was something about it that drew her in, something that beckoned for her to listen closer.

The song didn't seep into her mind like the books she had read over and over in the past. She wasn't able to fully comprehend the meaning behind it, but it still tugged on her heartstrings nonetheless. There was something about it that was alluring; the tone of it strung a chord within her soul that had been untouched for years. It was the same string that was tied to her past and the issues she had been dealing with for as long as she remembered. While she didn't understand it, it felt like it explained herself so well.

A single tear rolled down her cheek of its own accord as she drifted off to sleep, the piano medley dying out as it changed to the next song.

* * *

At close to three in the morning, she found herself alone in the confessional room once again. She clicked the camera on and weakly smiled.

"Maybe my previous observation of the girls was wrong - primarily Meredith and Nicole. It's pretty obvious they're gonna be the mean girls this season. No doubt about that. But the others are still complete sweethearts," she said to the blinking red light.

"And Soul isn't who he made himself out to be in the beginning as well. There's still something about him that he's hiding from me and the others, but he's definitely not a dickbag." She paused briefly. "I don't regret tossing my drink on him, either. He deserved that, and truth be told, I always kinda wanted to do that to someone. Soul was the perfect candidate for that."

She sighed and picked up the iPod she had brought with her. "The music on this is also really good. I don't get it - jazz and piano are things I'm forever musically challenged with - but they're still good songs to listen to. Not better than dubstep and Taylor Swift," she added. "I do appreciate Soul's music, though."

Smiling, she leaned forward and clicked the camera off before leaving the room to go back to bed.

* * *

At the second rose ceremony, Soul did the same thing he had done at the first one. With each name that he called out, he looked straight at her and gave her the same hope that had been present that night. The only difference was the smirk that played on the edge of his mouth.

When he finally did say her name, it sounded like he was testing it out. His lips lingered on both syllables of her name, drawing out each letter. Her name was warm, sweet honey leaving his lips, and she wanted to hear more of it. It sounded like a promise being whispered in the dead of night, too afraid that if he were any louder that the tranquility would shatter. It was low and sensual like a song being sung for a lover, and it sent a shiver down her spine

Taking the rose from him, she smiled.


	3. Horse Poop & Stable Talks

**Horse Poop & Stable Talks**

It was early morning.

The air was brisk as the wind gently blew around them, hitting Maka's bare skin as she stood with the other girls. Sunlight peeked over the horizon as its rays reached into the sky and it rose to wake the rest of the world. A rooster's croaking call could be heard from where she stood. It was early in the morning, but late enough for the ranch to be active as well. Marie importantly stood in front of the cameraman as she waved a sheet of paper around. It must have been their itinerary for filming that day because they all listened to her attentively.

Soul was beside them with his back turned, one foot propped up on the wooden fence as he cooed a black horse that was on the other side. Maka watched as his hand slowly brushed down the bridge of its nose while his other cradled the jaw to hold it steady.

His touch was soft and caring as he handled the beast; its eyes squinting in pleasure the longer Soul stroked it. Her gaze went from his hand to Soul's mouth. She noted the small movement as he talked to the creature in hushed tones. A comfortable aura surrounded Soul and the horse that suggested a bond had built between them over time. It felt like as if she were intruding on an intimate setting as she walked closer to them, her shoes squishing the grass beneath her.

When she was close enough to touch the fence, the horse's eyes snapped open, hinting that she had ruined the moment. The creature started to whinny and struggle out of Soul's grasp. He jumped out of the way as the horse spastically moved about and attempted to calm it in a soothing, mellow voice.

"Sshh, calm down, boy," he said. "Sshh, it's okay. You're okay."

Her fingers flexed by her side as she stepped back. The horse finally calmed down, snorting heavily as it walked back over to Soul. It nuzzled his hand with its snout as its nostrils flared with each breath it took, and it fell back into its initial state as Soul's fingers scratched the side of its face.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have come over here. Just wanted to see your horse. Didn't mean to scare it or anything. I'll go back, though."

Maka turned to go back to where the other girls were meant to be, but didn't get too far as Soul stopped her.

"Nah, it's fine. He gets spooked easily, is all." Soul reached his right hand out toward her. "Come here."

She reluctantly placed her hand in his and he pulled her back over, tucking her between him and the fence. He grabbed her wrist with the other and extended her hand out toward the horse. Carefully he brushed the tips of her fingers along the horse's muzzle. The horse jerked back at her touch, causing Soul to hold her still, before it nudged her hand with its snout to allow her to touch it. Short hairs sticking around its nostrils tickled beneath her fingernails each time Soul moved her hand back up to the bridge of its nose. Maka smiled and giggled as she pet the beast before her - growing braver as her other hand cradled the side of its face in a fashion similar to how Soul was before.

"There," Soul whispered behind her, "that's all he needed."

It quickly became clear of how close Soul was standing to her. She felt his body heat press against her back and the slow motion of his chest with each breath the bull rider took. Little sparks of electricity surged along her spine as she swallowed the lump in her throat. The feeling was both comforting and weird; she hadn't known him long enough to have this kind of effect being close to him. Rather than dwelling on it for too long, though, she excused it as her body's way of reacting to someone of the opposite sex after so long.

That made sense.

"And what would that be?" she asked, her voice equally as quiet and thankfully not thick like she had feared.

"To know he can trust you." He removed his hand from hers and stepped to the side as she continued to pet the horse. She inwardly sighed at not having him close to her anymore. "Spitfire don't do well with strangers."

Nodding, she chose to ignore the change in his diction. "So he takes after his owner?"

From her peripheral, she saw him roll his eyes at her. "Ha… funny."

Moving her hand to scratch underneath the horse's jaw, Spitfire lifted his nose upward a bit to give her more access. He closed his eyes like had done for Soul a few minutes earlier; the small action made her smile. "But he's much sweeter than you."

Soul snorted. "That's because you only just met him."

"Oh, so he does take after his owner after all?"

"I thought you forgave me for being a douche."

"I did, but that doesn't mean I can't keep reminding you."

"The idea of forgiving someone is that you don't bring up the reason you forgave them."

Maka licked her lips and dropped her hand away from Spitfire who wasted no time in nudging her hand in a fashion similar to a dog begging for more scratches. She mindlessly did as the horse wished as her and Soul stood there in silence. Originally she hadn't come over to ridicule Soul and remind him of his behavior from the first night. It was more with the intention of seeing the horse because she had never seen one up close before unless it was in her picture books when she was a child.

"He's really pretty," she commented. Soul hummed beside her. "What kinda horse is he?"

"A quarter horse. Same kind that played Black Beauty in the movie."

"I take it he isn't a racing horse, though." She smiled when he stared at her, eyes wide in surprise. "You know that phase girls in elementary go through? Where they're either horse fanatics or into wolves? I was the horse fanatic."

"I see. So you know a little bit 'bout horses?"

"I always insisted Mama bought me the folders with the pretty horse pictures on front for school so I could read the blurbs about horses on the inside."

"Cute," he half-smiled. "But, yea, Spitfire's more of a cowing horse. That's what Blake, our horse wrangler on the property and another rancher, calls him anyways."

"What's a cowing horse?"

"It's Blake's way of sayin' he's a cuttin' horse. Basically Spitfire knows how to control cows."

"And I take that that's a good thing?"

"Comes in handy when we have to brand the cows, and if I ever wanna do cow roping at the rodeo, I already got a horse for that. Just gotta train him."

"Oh," she baby talked toward Spitfire, "so you really are better than your owner."

"He's not better than me," Soul defended.

"But he does all the work."

"I do some stuff."

"Like what? Sit on him while he does _all_ the work?" she smiled. Soul opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and huffed, hunching over the fence in defeat. Maka giggled and scratched underneath Spitfire's chin. "That's what I thought."

He seemed to pout harder as he rested his foot on the fence once again, and mumbled, "I'm also needed like the horse."

"Are you really really acting like a baby? I thought you were twenty-eight, not four," Maka teased.

"I'm not acting like a baby. Just saying the cowboy's just as important as the horse."

"No one said you weren't important as well. I was teasing you, Soul." She lightly nudged him with her shoulder. "I'm sure you're a tremendous help with Spitfire and _cowing_."

She caught the slight twitch of his lips as he fought back a smile, but he didn't comment anymore on the matter. Maka went back to petting the side of Spitfire's face. His sleek black coat shined in the sunlight as the sun hovered higher in the sky. The horse was absolutely gorgeous, and she knew right away that its owners had taken well care of it with how healthy he looked. Maybe she didn't know a lot about horses and ranching, but she did know when she came across a happy and loved animal.

"You've really put a lot of time and care into him," she quietly commented. Her hand paused above Spitfire's jaw as she looked over at Soul and smiled. "He seems really happy being out here."

Carmine eyes shifted from the grass to meet her own. "Thanks."

Her mouth opened to comment more on the matter, but her attention was drawn toward Marie and the crew. The cameramen prepared their equipment for the day as they tested things out to make sure everything was working accordingly. Marie counted the heads of the bachelorettes to make sure everyone was there - which, by the looks of it, seemed everyone was. All the girls were dressed in their best attire as they were ready for the camera while Maka had thrown her hair into a ponytail and thrown on whatever was at the top of her suitcase.

"I'm gonna stick out like a sore thumb," she said, chewing on her bottom lip.

"You'll be fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. You're in proper dress for what y'all are doing today, anyway."

Of course he knew what they were doing. Surely Marie had spoken with Soul and his family about what were proper challenges to do on the ranch considering they lived on one, and their normal challenges weren't going to cut it. They weren't at the normal mansion that the show took place at, so they had change how things were done.

"You know what we're doing? Can you tell me?"

Soul appeared to want to tell her, but must have changed his mind half-way. "I think Marie'll get mad if I do."

"Not even a little hint?"

His brows furrowed together as he contemplated it before smirking. "Has to do something with Spitfire."

She curiously stared at the horse. What were they going to be doing that called for Spitfire to play a part in it? They were on a ranch. Maybe it had something to do with trying to control the horse, and if that was it, she already had it in the bag. He was a manageable horse who was complete putty in her hand as she scratched the side of his face.

"Maka! We're getting ready to start!" Marie called out, her voice a mixture of authority and motherly.

Dropping her hand from the horse, she smiled apologetically as he snorted and whinnied in protest. "Sorry. I gotta go."

To Soul, she said, "I'll see you later?"

"Yea. Later."

Making a mental note on the changes his diction had taken in their short conversation, Maka headed over toward the girls to join them.

* * *

Maka turned on the camera in the temporary confessional that the crew had set up in the barn.

"Met Blake. He's fun. Talks about horse droppings a lot, but I guess that should have been my first clue of what's happening today," she said. "Apparently our challenge is to clean out horse stalls. That should be fun. Considering Meredith and Nicole are on my team, and we all know how much they like to get down and dirty."

There was a slight bite in her words as she spoke that she tried to control, but it was hard when her _teammates_ weren't _team players_. She was grateful that they had participated in the soccer match. At least they had been helpful then. However, it didn't feel fair that they were lazing around this week and refusing to help out in any shape or form. It wasn't very sportsmanship of them.

"I don't think we'll be getting much help from those two given their reaction when Blake announced what we were doing. That's on them, though. If they want to miss a chance of going on a date with Soul, they can do so."

They had stared at Blake as if he had insulted their good name or something. Then they proceeded to voice their opinions on the matter for everyone to hear which Blake had stood his own against very well. Soul's annoyance with their attitude had been more obvious though - to Maka, at least. She had noticed the glare he had given them and the slight movement of his head as he shook it in disappointment.

"I already had my date with Soul last week, and the other girls need to have their chance as well. This is a competition, after all. It wouldn't be so much fun if one set of girls hogged the bachelor's attention and prevented others from getting some of the limelight as well." She smiled at the blinking red light. "Especially with it being so early in the game. I want everyone to have an equal chance at love."

She leaned forward and clicked the camera off.

* * *

Maka carefully rolled the horse droppings on the ground with the hay that littered the cement floor before scooping it up and dumping it in the wheelbarrow in the walkway. The smell was rancid, but not overbearing as it wafted into her nostrils from the motion. It was more like day old sour grapes. According to Blake, the main reason behind that wasn't because of the feces, but rather the _horse piss_ that was mixed in with it. Horses weren't carnivores which kept their personal business from smelling putrid in comparison to humans.

So overall, cleaning out horse stalls wasn't that horrible an experience as she anticipated.

The stalls themselves, though, _were_ different from what she expected.

There had been a TV show when she was growing up called The Saddle Club which was where she gained most of her knowledge of what stables looked like, and the Evans' differed greatly. She had expected them to be more enclosed with metal bars on the doors. These stalls were more open with low mahogany walls that came up to the horses neckline and gave them more room to stretch out their limbs. They were nice, even if they weren't what she had in mind; they fit in with the Evans' ranch perfectly.

Her eyes drifted upward as Soul walked by, a camera following him, before she turned back to what she was doing.

He presses his shoulder against the archway, crossed his arms, and spoke to her. "How ya holding up?"

"Alright," she replied, rolling another round of horse poop into the hay. "Could do with more help, but beggars can't be choosers."

"Lemme guess, Nicole and Meredith ditched you and Jenna?"

"Are you surprised?"

"Not even the slightest."

She scooped the finished rolled up horse droppings into her shovel and carried them out to the hallway where the wheelbarrow was. Soul stepped out of her way as the cameramen who had been filming them both followed in time with their feet. There were no mic guys today; the crew had placed hidden ones on them before they started filming. Even after being on the show for three weeks, though, it was still uneasy being filmed almost all the time. Maka wished there were more moments when it was only the two of them like that morning.

How did they expect anyone to fall for someone when they were constantly being watched?

Setting the bottom of the shovel against the ground, she sighed. "It's okay, though. That they're basically sabotaging our chances of getting another date with you."

He stuffed his hands in his front pockets, scuffed the bottom of his boot on the cement, and glanced up at her beneath the brim of his hat. When he spoke, his voice sounded distant and strained as if he were trying to conceal something, but she wasn't sure what. Or for what reason he had to do so.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because we already had a date with you," she shrugged. "And if it's meant to be a fair competition then you should have a chance to know the other girls as well, right?"

His hat hid his face from her as he stared at his shoes, but it bounced up and down like he had nodded. "Guess you're right." Carmine eyes shyly glanced at her as he looked back up. "And how else will the other girls fall in love with my good looks?"

Maka opened her mouth to comment, but opted to roll her eyes instead. She walked back into the stall with her shovel as she said, "Don't flatter yourself. You aren't that charming."

"That's just what you think," he scoffed.

"Oh? And may I ask who's been telling you lies?"

"I've been told by past girlfriends."

"I want names," she said as she rolled another round of the horse droppings. "And signed contracts saying that you didn't bribe them because I doubt they said that with a good conscious."

"You wound me, Albarn."

With his forearm pressed against the archway, he crossed one foot in front of the other and stood in what was considered a cool manner. If it weren't for the obvious stiffness in his posture as he did so and the awkward grimace on his face, Maka probably would have believed it too. She snorted under her breath as she finished the last section of her chores before taking it over to the wheelbarrow. Afterward, she poked him in the middle causing him to hunch over in reaction.

"Nice try, but I can see past your _cool_ act," she said with a smile.

"It was worth a try," he said, rubbing the spot she had poked.

"This coming from the guy who pretended to be an asshole the first night when he's not." She heard him heavily breathe out at the reminder as she turned her back to him. Over her shoulder, she added, "I only remind you so you don't do it again."

"Pretty sure I learned my lesson," he said a little aggravated.

She smiled apologetically as she looked back at him. He was staring off to the side, a small pout on his face, and she felt only a little bad at being an ass to him as well. Sometimes she needed to learn when she had taken a joke too far, and it felt like Soul felt bad for how he had acted her first night there. Reaching out in the small space between them, she flicked the brim of his hat so that his gaze met hers.

"I'm sorry. I promise I'll stop bringing it up if you promise you won't act that way again."

A ghost of a smile graced his face as he said, "Promise."

"Good."

Green eyes turned to the wheelbarrow behind her. Brown and gold littered the inside like a show of her handiwork for the last hour or so. Her arms were sore, there was an ache in her back that was more proof of how much she had done, but she knew it wasn't enough. There were still two more stalls that needed to be cleaned out and not enough time to do so.

"Well, my part of the competition is done. Doesn't really matter, though."

"'Course it does." She looked at him confused and asked for more explanation through her eyes. "Bake'll be glad you helped out with his chores, and he won't curse your name while he mucks out the other two stalls."

"When you put it that way, guess it is worth _something_."

"Trust me, it is."

"I'll take your word for it."

They stared at each other in silence for a while - an unawkward silence that Maka hadn't realized was so until afterward. It felt natural to be like that with him even under their current circumstances with being on a TV show. Maybe it was too soon (she did only know him for three weeks) but she considered Soul a friend. She was curious to know more about him - to figure out what exactly went through his head as he went through the show.

How did someone like him end up on The Bachelor anyway?

One of the cameramen coughed, drawing her and Soul out of the trance. She wiped nonexistent sweat from her palms on her shorts while he adjusted his hat. While their silence may not have been awkward, the aftermath of realizing that they had been staring at each other for however long definitely was. Sighing under her breath, she glanced at the wheelbarrow and back at him.

"Guess I'll go dump this out now."

"Yea," he said a little winded as if he had run a marathon. "Better go check on the others myself. See you 'round?"

"Mhm. Have fun on your date with the other girls."

He half-smiled at her comment. "I'll try."

With that, they both went their separate ways. As Maka wheeled the result of her cleaning down the hallway, her mind went over their conversation and how easy it had been to talk to him. It was funny how smoothly things went when he wasn't being someone else.

* * *

Maka sat down in the confessional back at the guest house and clicked the camera on.

"To no one's surprise, we lost," she said. "And of course Meredith and Nicole showed up ten minutes before the competition was over and picked up shovels as if they were ready to work. Then had the audacity to pout and whine when the other team was announced the winner. I don't know what those two were thinking was going to happen."

She sighed and shook her head.

"But it's okay. What I said the last time still stands. The others deserve to go on a date with Soul as much as we do. He already met with us. He needs to meet with the others as well for this to be a fair competition. But how is he expected to fall for even one of us if he's meeting seven other girls as well? I never understood that concept of the show." Her gaze drifted to the side of the room as she realized she was using the confessional as a diary; something she hadn't expected from herself.

"I did get a chance to talk to Soul today, though. That was really nice," she commented. "He's actually a nice guy once you get passed the whole asshole, bigotry thing he tried to pull my first night here."

Licking her lips, she paused. She contemplated saying the next thought that crossed her mind or if it was too personal to share with what would eventually be all of America. Who knew what the editors for the show were going to cut and paste from her time in front of this camera. The last thing she needed was for something she said to be taken out of context or to be used to set the viewers up that maybe she was changing her mind about the show.

Clicking the camera off, she decided to keep it to herself.

* * *

Maka knew the girls who hadn't gone on the date were going to spend most of their time gossiping about it with those who had. She wasn't much in the mood to find out about all the juicy details, either, so while they all flocked towards the living area, she made her escape through the front door.

With a small backpack she had stowed away in her suitcase, she crossed the open field of the ranch where there were luckily no cameras waiting for her. She had packed a water bottle, some carrots, and her favorite, worn book inside the bag as she went to seek some alone time since coming onto the show. The air was fresh and clean; the ranch peaceful. Both were things she had taken for granted before arriving on the show, and she finally had a chance to relish in them both.

Even though she enjoyed getting to know the girls, it was also draining to be around them 24/7. Their electronics had been collected after the first rose ceremony which prevented them from having any contact from the outside world. It also meant they only had each other to communicate with. While she didn't mind girl talk - she was used to it with Liz and Tsubaki - it was also nice to have some time for herself, curled up with a novel she had read far too many times to count. A luxury she missed the most since coming onto the show because every time she attempted to do so, someone always came into the room to start a conversation.

She reached the stable that they had been working at the previous day.

Once there, she checked around to make sure no one was around to see her before slipping in through the large doors and closing them behind her. Rays of sunlight poured in through the barred windows behind the stalls giving it a homely, open feel. The air smelled different in comparison to the day before; it was fresh and clean with a slight hint of wood chippings. There was no hint of the horse piss that had remained in her nostrils for three hours after the challenge had ended. She felt her body relax as she glanced around the people-free area, grateful to be alone even for a short while.

Smiling to herself, she walked down the hallway as she passed by horse stall after horse stall and read the worn gold plates that she barely registered. A few of the stalls were empty while others were occupied with horses that didn't bother to pay her any attention. One or two did whinny and snort in reaction to her being there, but other than that it was like she was a ghost. When she passed by Spitfire's stall, he poked his head out and sniffed her. She briefly stopped to scratch the side of his face before heading to the empty stall next to him.

It was completely barren. Yellow straw didn't litter the ground nor was there any horse equipment hanging from the wall. The nameplate had also been removed, leaving only the outline of where it once was in its wake.

Dropping her backpack on the floor, she settled down on the cement and stretched her legs out in front of her to get comfortable. The light from outside danced around her as she pulled out the book along with her snack and drink. She was ready to have an hour or two with a peace of mind and the chance to unwind from being on the show for so long. There was no doubt in her mind that if Liz were there she'd chide her for choosing to read a novel rather than working her magic to woo the cute bachelor. Her friend also would have rolled her eyes upon seeing the book she had brought along with her.

 _Pride and Prejudice_ by Jane Austen: a classic.

Her small studio apartment was filled with numerous copies of the novel from aging them out so often. Though, she had excused as creating a small collection of the book since the only ones she bought were editions that held sentimental messages on the front from the previous owners. It had more to do with nostalgia than anything. The very first copy she had of the book was before her mama and papa divorced. The one that her papa had bought special for her tenth birthday because she had grown tired of her other books.

The novel was a way for her to escape from reality and drown herself in the world of Darcy and Elizabeth and being jealous of their lives. A part of her wanted to live the extravagant lifestyle they had - to have her story written out for her rather than living each day wondering what was going to happen next. Their story had helped her get through the fighting and arguing that had come before her parents divorce when she was eleven. Now it served as a way for her to escape constantly being in front of a camera.

About thirty minutes of her being immersed in the book, the back door of the barn opened and closed without her hearing it. The hard footsteps that thudded against the cement floor went unnoticed by her as well as the whinny of the horse behind her and the deep coo that followed. It wasn't until Spitfire's stall door creaked open that she finally realized there was another human soul in the barn.

She snapped the book closed - not bothering to mark her place - and stumbled to her feet as she whipped around to see Soul standing with Spitfire.

"What are you doing here?!" she blurted at the sight of him.

He had his back toward her so he didn't see her pop up. At the sound of her voice he jumped and yelped causing the horse to mimic its owner. Spitfire threw his head back and neighed as his hooves beat against the ground. Wild red eyes whipped around to stare at her.

"What do you mean what am I doing here? This is my barn," Soul spat out, panic etched in his voice.

Maka was embarrassed and felt stupid that _that_ had been the first thing out of her mouth.

"A better question," he continued, "is what are _you_ doing here? Thought you'd be with the others… Doing whatever you girls do after dates."

"I needed a break from everything so came out here to read." She raised the novel to show him her proof. "It's tiring being filmed 24/7 when you're not used to it, you know. I just needed a short breather."

Scratching behind his ear, he nodded. "Yea, I do actually. Why do ya think I'm out here?"

"The barn's your escape place?"

"It's one of the only places they aren't allowed to film." He paused for a moment. "And I kinda prefer it out here."

"I noticed that yesterday," she commented. "The cameramen seemed to be out of place when they came in here."

"They're outta place all over," he scoffed

A thought crossed her mind in response to his comment. She folded her arms, rested them on the wall dividing the two stalls, and got closer to Soul who moved back as if to get away before reverting back his original position. Spitfire nudged Soul's arm with his snout who didn't budge. When it was clear his owner wasn't going to give him attention, the horse snorted and pressed his head against Soul's back.

It was kind of adorable to see Spitfire act that way - like a big baby. Maka smiled before she spoke again.

"You're not a really big fan of being on The Bachelor, are you?"

He snorted. "What was your first clue, Sherlock?"

"Soul," she chided. She attempted to speak with her eyes as she stared at him, trying to convey that he was being an ass again.

A small sigh of defeat left his lips, but it didn't discount the slight twitch of his mouth as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Yea. I'm not a fan of 'em being here."

"So why are you still doing the show? We're three weeks in, can't you quit or something? Kick them off you land? I heard a rumor that you can shoot someone who's on your property in Texas so why not do that?"

"See you've done your research, but killin' someone is still illegal here."

"I didn't mean actually kill them. Just shoot a few rounds to scare them off."

Laughing, he shook his head and dropped his gaze to the ground. Sanguine eyes twinkled in delight as she looked back up at her. "I like where you're going, but Ma don't believe in havin' guns 'round here."

"Then why did you agree to do the show? You're obviously not in it to find a trophy wife like previous bachelors," she said matter-factly.

It was no mystery to her - and probably everyone else - that Soul didn't have his heart in the show and he had no intention of finding true love. He was going through the motions to appease some higher force that she wasn't aware of. It was obvious in the way he acted in front of the cameras and the way he spoke differently depending on who was around. Though it wasn't the same as the Soul who was an asshole, it was still the same act he was playing. There were just other ways he was performing them.

Soul scratched along his lower jaw line. Uncertainty was etched behind his gaze as he stared at her.

After a few seconds, he shook his head and said, "You're wrong. That's the exact reason I did this. To find a girl to be my trophy wife."

Her lips puckered out in disappointment. She knew he was lying; it was obvious in his body language. In the way he hunched his shoulders, the cocky grin he gave her, and the slight falter in his voice, it was all there. The cameras weren't even around to constitute the change in his demeanor.

"Well," she sighed, stretching her arms as she pushed herself away from the wall, "I know you're lying, but I'll let it slide. This time. But only because I feel you'll tell me when you want to."

He chuckled as he raised his brows and shook his head once. "Alright, if you say so."

A small moment of silence fell between them in which they stared at each other, identical smiles on both their lips. Spitfire sneezing behind Soul drew her attention to him and caused her to miss the way Soul's eyes turned soft as he stared at her. He broke the silence between them, and when she turned back, the softness had vanished. In its place was the guarded look that was there every time they spoke.

"So what're you reading?" he asked, nodding to the book in her hand.

She glanced at it and hugged it to her chest as she rested her elbows on the wood wall. "Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It's one of my favorites."

"'fraid I didn't read that one in high school, sorry."

"Lemme guess, Sparknotes?"

His lips pulled up into a wide grin. "Course."

"Should of guessed," she smiled. "You don't really seem like the reading type."

"I read," he said. "I won't admit it if you tell anyone one, but I do read."

"Which one: comics or picture books?"

"Neither, for your information."

"Then what _do_ you read?"

"Stephen King," he shrugged. Her eyes squinted in disbelief as her brows knitted together causing him to tack on, "I like the creepy factoid of 'em."

"It's not the right meaning of the word, but I get what you mean," she said. Spitfire clomped around behind Soul as if he were having a fit before settling down and snorting. "Didn't expect you to like those kind of books. I mean you don't seem the type to-"

"Read?" he cut in.

"No. The type to like those kind of books."

"Guess I'm full of surprises?"

"More like you're not what I thought a cowboy would be like," she corrected.

"What? You thought I was a dumbass?"

"No, that's actually correct," she grinned.

Soul scoffed at her answer and mumbled something about apologizing for his earlier antics to the wood beneath him. She lightly touched his chin to draw his attention back to her.

"I'll admit I thought you were gonna be the stereotypical Texan that's shown on TV. You know, the idiots who have holey smiles, are racist, sexist, and uneducated. But you're none of those." She licked her lips, inhaled, and exhaled deeply. "You're still a dumbass for treating me like shit the first night, though."

"Thought you were gonna let that go."

"I am, don't worry. But it's kinda hard not to remind you that your antics were pretty dumb."

The edge of his mouth twitched in a grin. "I was an ass to you so I'll let it pass, but only until I prove that I'm not actually like that."

"You haven't exactly done anything that proves you aren't," she pointed.

"Point taken."

"Remember you weren't only an ass to me, but the others as well."

"Yeah. The others, too."

His voice was flat that made it sound like he didn't care to add them under the umbrella of people he was a dick to, but Maka brushed it off. He probably hadn't reached that level of empathy for them yet. Which did make sense considering he spent more time talking to her than them. At least as far as she was aware of. She hadn't asked the other bachelorettes how well their dates with him had gone earlier that day. How much he had opened up to the others was still a mystery to her; for all she knew he had treated them the same way he did her.

"You need to show us more of the guy I met when I first came here - the guy outside the limo. He seemed like a nice guy," she said.

A hint of softness crossed sanguine eyes as his tongue peeked out between his lips. "Think I can do that."

Out of nowhere, Spitfire sniffed Soul's butt causing the bull rider to yelp and jump forward in surprise before turning around to swat the horse away.

"I didn't bring any food, you big cow!" Soul scolded.

"Is he hungry?" Maka asked out of curiosity.

"No, he's not." Soul glared at his horse, eyes softening as he looked back at her. "He's had plenty to eat, and has shit it out already too."

"Then he's still hungry."

"Trust me, he isn't. He just likes to eat."

"Does he eat carrots?" Maka asked as she bent down to where her backpack was by her feet, completely ignoring Soul. "I have some with me because I thought I'd get hungry out here, but he can have them."

She popped back up with the bag of carrots, smiling. Spitfire wasted no time as he trotted up to her - pushing Soul out the way in the process - and sniffed the bag causing the plastic to enter his dark nostrils. He snorted and neighed. His ears wiggled back and forth in delight, pulling his lips back to show off a full set of sparkly choppers that he used to bite at the bag. Maka giggled while Soul rolled his eyes and slouched against the wall with a small huff.

"You can't eat plastic, silly," she said.

Maka retracted the bag away from him and opened it. Spitfire snorted again when she took a carrot out, stepped forward, and rested his head on top of the wall. She made her hand into a faux plate as she offered the vegetable to him so that he didn't nibble on her fingers accidentally. He practically inhaled the snack, his lips lightly tickling her as he took the carrot, and he nudged her hand for more when he was done.

"Don't spoil him," Soul commented.

"Can't spoil someone who already is," she said as she gave Spitfire another treat. "He's a big sweetie."

A ghost of a smile graced Soul's mouth as he said, "You're lucky the others don't eat like him or else you'd have a barn full of crying horses on your hands."

Tossing a quick grin his way, she continued to feed Spitfire. She felt Soul's gaze on her as she did so; a chin ran up her spine and the eerie feeling she got when someone was watching her crawled along her skin. Maka pushed it to the back of her mind and focused on the dwindling carrots in the bag, but it was harder than she expected. Her mind had already become more aware of her body movements causing her actions to feel mechanical and calculated rather than natural.

When all the carrots were gone, she rubbed the horse slobber off her hand against her jean shorts.

"Welp, that's it," she said to the horse. "You ate them all, and now I don't have anything to eat myself."

Spitfire appeared not to care as he stretched his neck out and sniffed Maka all over.

"'ey, she said no more." Soul pressed his hands on the horse's neck and pushed him away from her. "Stop being greedy."

The horse whinnied and shook his head, black hair whipping around him as he did so. He nudged Soul with his snout a few times causing the rancher to take a step back, but he held his position against the powerful animal.

"Stop being a big baby," he chided. "You got oats in your feedin' bin, eat that."

Snorting and breathing out heavily, Spitfire's black eyes stared at his owner before he turned around and walked over to the bin. He didn't eat, though. Instead he stuck his head inside like a spoiled child who had to drive the Mercedes instead of the Lexus. Soul face palmed at the horse's antics while Maka giggled.

"Sorry 'bout that. He's kinda a drama king at times," he told her.

"I think it's kind of cute."

"You wouldn't if you had to deal with it every day." Resting his arms on the wall between them, Soul sighed. "Sorry 'bout ruinin' your reading time."

"Don't be," she said, lightly shaking her head causing the tip of her ponytail to brush against her neck. "It was a nice little distraction. Had the chance to get to know you and Spitfire over there. Two big babies living on the ranch."

He grinned. "Got to find out you're a book nerd."

She felt herself smile despite the slightly rude accusation, no matter how true it was. "And don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this place. It'll be our secret."

"Thanks." A light shade of pink dusted his cheeks as he tipped his head down.

They stood in silence for a few moments before Soul excused himself and left the barn, leaving Maka alone once again. Spitfire left his bin when his owner was gone, and walked back over to her to sniff her again which prompted her to tell him again that there was no more food. The horse rested his head on the wall and looked at her with sad, puppy eyes. It only made her laugh and shake her head, though.

Settling back on the cement floor, she started to read again until the light outside turned a dusty orange.

* * *

At the third rose ceremony, Maka stood on the left side of the platform in the dining room practically hidden behind the taller girls. She moved a little to the side so that the cameras and Soul were in her viewpoint. They weren't going to get the chance to make her the laughing stalk on the show because of her height disadvantage. Even in her heels she was the shortest one there. It almost made her curse their supermodel-esque body types. Almost. The reason for her shortness had more to do with her parents than them after all.

Soul grabbed the first rose, held it in front of his chest, slyly turned his bored eyes on her, and they stared at each other for a few seconds. Maka wondered if he was going to say her name first or not in the brief moment. Given his streak from before, she sensed that he wasn't going to, but there was a glimmer of hope that told her otherwise. Maybe she had finally deemed herself worthy to be his first choice when it came to the roses.

But as the edge of his mouth tugged up in a smirk, she knew she was wrong.

Not like she wanted him to, anyways.

Though, it would have been flattering if he did.

"Blair," he said, in the most dull and unentertained voice ever.

The woman bounced down from the top and across the small room to close the distance between her and the bachelor, pausing in front of him and waiting.

"Blair, will you accept this rose as a token of my love?" he asked, his tone unwavering.

"Of course," Blair said with plenty of excitement in her voice.

She took the rose and walked off to the side, smiling at Maka and giving her a small thumbs up as she did so. Maka returned it, genuinely happy that her friend was still in the game.

He continued to say name after name in the same dull voice he had used in the beginning, and continuously looked to Maka before saying a name that wasn't her own. The exact same tactic he used in the previous ceremonies. By the time it was her and another girl standing in front of him, she was tired of the game he was playing with the roses. Her lips pursed out as she chewed the inside of cheek and glared at him. She hoped to convey her annoyance, but it didn't appear to work as he half-smirked before speaking again. It only annoy her more.

"The last rose. It's been a pleasure to get to know both of you, and it pains me to say goodbye to one of you, but I must to keep the show going."

It was the same monotone voice he had been using during the last thirty minutes as if he were reading from a script with a hint of sarcasm underneath. Despite herself, she smiled.

"The woman I wanna give this rose to is," a small pause, "Maka."

Warmth circulated around her name as it escaped from his lips that seeped into her skin. She stepped forward and crossed the threshold over to him, taking the rose he offered her. The sides of their fingers touched as they rested on top of her causing a small nonexistent tingle shot down the length of her hand and up her arm.

"Maka," he warmly said, "will you accept this rose as a token of my love?"

"Yes." When he released the flower, she allowed her hand to drop to her side, muttering, "idiot," under her breath as she did for only him to hear.

He chuckled at her as she walked to where the other girls were.


	4. Oglesby Norbert & Nice Cowboys

**Oglesby Norbert & Nice Cowboys**

Stepping outside the guest house, Maka stretched out her long limbs - popping her back in the process - before relaxing again. She inhaled deeply; the sweet scent of dew as it rested on the grass wafted up her nose and tickled her tongue when she yawned. Sun rays peeked out behind the trees in the distance, coating the sky above in hues of pink and purple. A light mist floated above the earth like wisps of smoke creating an eerie - almost fairytale-like - feel to the ranch. Save for a few birds chirping in the trees, everything was silent.

It was serene, and beautiful.

Maka made her way over to where a patio sat behind the main house. Hanging flowers and trees concealed it so that one had to be standing at a certain place on the farm to see it. Vines climbed along the wood posts in a spiral as they reached out for sunlight, and a russet painted porch swing lazily swayed from silver chains. She sat down on it, tucking one leg under her rear while the other softly moved her back and forth.

A cry of a rooster broke through the calm of the ranch some distance away as a few animals woke from their slumber. In the field across from her, cows nudged their calves awake and horses slowly trotted out into the pasture to graze. The minutes ticked by as the sun took its sweet time to rise. Its rays thickened, painting the sky like a brush over a canvas in different shades of orange, yellow, purple, and pink. They casted a faint violet shade beneath the clouds above. Everything about it was gorgeous, and Maka felt herself falling in love with the countryside.

There were no honking cars or noisy pedestrians as they made their way to work like there was in the city. No one cursed or shouted or catcalled to each other as they fought to get their morning coffee. Texas had a different air to it that was peaceful. While she missed her apartment, she didn't miss it as much as she had expected herself to originally. She also hadn't grown sick of the rural area yet either. Being out there felt more like home than her cramped two by two apartment ever did.

Tucking her knees to her chest, Maka rested her chin in the space between them.

The morning hues vanished from the sky as they made way for blue, and the backdoor of the main house creaked open and closed. Her gaze drifted away from animals out in the pasture as she caught a glimpse of white hair from her peripheral. Soul had walked out of the house with a blonde man beside him. They seemed to be familiar with each other as they crossed over to where the paddock and horses were. Their voices carried as they passed by her hiding spot, but they didn't take notice of her as she sat there.

"Can't believe Marie thought it'd be a great idea to go horse backing riding," Soul grumbled, not at all like the tone he used when the cameras were on. "How much you wanna bet at least one of 'em cain't get on the saddle? End up havin' to help 'em."

The other man snorted. "Don't sound so excited there, ya might hurt somethin'."

"You'd feel the same way if it was you."

"No I wouldn't, little brother. I'd very much enjoy it. Unlike you." The other man reached out and playfully ruffled Soul's hair which earned him a low growl and a swat at the hand.

"Yea, well, bein' surrounded by girls all tryin' to get your attention'll do that to you."

"Hmm," the other man hummed, "I beg to differ, but okay. There's gotta be at least one ya like."

Soul's back was facing her, but she noticed the small movement of his head as he no doubt glared at who she supposed was his brother. Unless calling someone _little brother_ was a term of endearment used in the south. Maka didn't know for sure which it was. Her knowledge of Texas and the southern states was limited for her to make a clear conclusion, but she made a mental note to ask Soul later.

"No," he said. But there was a slight ring in his voice that made it seem like he didn't mean it that the other man must have picked up on.

"Mmm, sure."

Their voices trailed off as they walked farther and farther away from her. Maka dropped her legs back down in front of her and debated on joining them or not. Technically her and the other bachelorettes weren't expected to be out for another half hour or so. The only reason she had come out so early was to enjoy the peace as well as to prevent an early morning battle for the bathroom.

She ended up opting to stay on the swing; she didn't want to ruin Soul and the other man's time together. If he really was his brother, they deserved to have some family bonding before they were invaded by the cameras and girls once again.

Plus, the sunrise was too beautiful not to miss.

* * *

Maka gathered with the other girls around the paddock while Soul and Wes placed saddles on the horses inside. The host of the show - who had never cleared his name with them or Maka hadn't paid attention when he did - stood in front of them with a few of the crew. They held the cameras toward the girls as the final portable mic was secured on the last girl. Marie was in the background with a clipboard to her chest, her pen beating rhythmically against it as she waited for them to be ready.

Stretching her arms out in front of her, Maka caught Soul staring at her. Warmth spread over her skin at being watched so closely and intently; embarrassment tingled as her face burned. She dropped her arms back to her die and gave him a little wave with a smile. His mouth fell open in surprise before he turned back to the saddle he was securing. From her vantage point, she watched as rose pink tinted his cheeks. Her lips twitched at the edges, and she felt herself flush for whatever reason as well.

Most likely at the fact that the cameras had been rolling a few seconds before the interaction. With her being in front of the others, they no doubt caught the moment.

Marie counted down for when they were going to begin, using her fingers after she reached three, and at one the host started his usual polished spiel.

"Good morning, ladies," he smiled: cheesy and camera-ready.

"Good morning," the girls echoed back.

"Now today's activity is different from what we've done in the past. Instead of having you girls do something strenuous to win a date with our bachelor, we're sending you girls off horseback riding with him." He turned around and motioned toward Soul and Wes. "As you can see behind me our two professional ranchers are preparing the horses you'll be riding."

As he pivoted back toward the girls, Maka saw Soul roll his eyes in Wes' direction.

"But as with everything, there is a catch." He paused for dramatic affect. "Only four of you lucky ladies will be riding with our bachelor I'm afraid. Soul has pre-selected who he wants to get to know better, and if Soul will please come forward, I'm sure he'll be more than happy to announce who those girls will be."

She highly doubted he'd be _happy_ to announce anything.

Her suspicions were correct as Soul took his sweet time to tighten the harness he had been working with before walking to the fence. He lazily blinked and stared blankly at them beneath his hat. Everyone waited for him to say something, but after a minute or so of nothing, it was clear that he was being an ass again. She wasn't sure if it was funny or cute or annoying - most likely the later if she wanted him to stick to his promise.

Cocking her head to the side, she pouted slightly when his eyes caught her eyes. She saw him reluctantly sigh a second afterward before he spoke.

"Right, so the four girls I'd like to spend time with today are Nicole, Jenna, Brittany, and Maka."

Blair nudged her shoulder when he said her name alerting her that she had heard him right. She looked over at the older woman and smiled. It felt wrong that she was getting another date with Soul, but at the same time she knew she had no control over it. He was free to spend time with whoever he pleased.

"Alright. So if those four girls can please choose a horse, we can get going," the host said.

"And what are the rest of us supposed to do?" came Meredith's voice. "You wake us up early to tell us we don't get to do _anything_?"

The host turned to Marie, back to the girls, and smiled harder. "We have something special in mind for the rest of you. Since these four get a pass from a competition, we decided to have the rest of you compete for two more girls to get a date with him later on. It won't be the same thing these ladies will be doing, but it's still fair."

"Which is?"

"We'll be taking you ladies into town, have you pick out a bachelorette dresses that are under $50, and then participate in a paint gun war." He waved his hand in front of him. "I'll give you girls more details in a bit. first, we need to let the other girls leave on their date. Okay?"

There was a mumble of annoyance from Meredith, but she didn't say more on the matter.

"Alright. Ladies, please pick your horse," the host repeated.

Maka crossed the short distance to where the paddock and horses were. There was an extra one, but she assumed it was for Wes since he was the only other logical person to be joining them. What bugged her, though, was the fact that there weren't enough for _all_ of them - The Bachelor crew included. Based on her knowledge of previous season, she knew they were a fan of aerial shots to give a more romantic feel for the viewers, but they hadn't set anything up to do so.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw a few of them packing up their equipment which meant they were planning on joining. It was the _how_ they were travelling that was the question.

"How are they gonna follow us?" she asked to no one in particular.

It was Jenna who answered her. She hadn't even realized the woman was walking behind her.

"I think they're going in a truck? Probably use one of those fancy new drone things to film us riding there?" she offered. "They do still film _everything_ so I know they have a plan."

"Mm," she hummed. "That's true. They had to have already thought it all through. I was just curious."

She didn't pay any mind where she was walking as she passed through the gate. Within a mere seconds of being inside, something soft but hard at the same time squished beneath her Converse as warmth seeped through the fabric. Maka stopped dead in her tracks as dread washed over her body because she knew without looking down what it was. A camera quickly turned on her as it zoomed in on the incident, and she wished for nothing except to be swallowed up by the ground.

"Please don't tell me I stepped in what I thought I did," she whispered to Jenna.

Jenna's hand had flown up to cover her mouth, but the curve of her cheeks gave away the smile.

"It's okay, though," the woman comforted. "We can always… You can always rub it off on the grass."

A small growl resounded from the back of her throat as she relaxed her body in defeat and stared down at the mess. Picking up her foot, little brown pieces of manure clung off her shoe and stained the white rubber soles. There was a collection of high-pitched giggles around her which she didn't bother to find out who they were coming from. Her only focus was the horse poop and walking around with a hint of horse mixed in with her body spray all day.

As well as going back to the guest house to wash it off later on.

"Shit," she said, half an expletive and half literal. "This is exactly what I need right now."

A low whistle blew near her, drawing her attention to the person, and she saw Wes motioning for Soul's attention.

"'ey, one of your girls stepped in horse shit," he said.

Soul finished tightening the strap of a saddle he had placed on a chestnut horse with white lines on its body that reminded her of a zebra. He stuck two fingers between the animal's stomach and the strap, tugged down, and smiled to himself before looking at Wes.

"What was that?" Maka noted that the accent she heard earlier had mysteriously vanished.

"Your girl stepped in horse shit," Wes bluntly said.

"Don't use such foul language while the cameras are on!" Marie squawked from where she stood with one of the camera guys, but the rancher waved her off.

"So?" Soul asked, ignoring Marie as well. "What do you want me to do about it?" He attended to the horse - which Maka noticed was a mare - by rubbing her belly and cooing to her quietly.

"It's okay," Maka broke in. "Really. I'll just rub it off on something. Probably smell like a crapped my pants the rest of the day, but that's okay."

The last bit she mumbled to herself so that no one heard her.

Wes threw her a grin as she stared at him. A mischievous look gleamed in his blue eyes that she didn't quite understand the reason for before he turned back to Soul. "It's that cute blonde you kept blabberin' to Ma 'bout last night? Maka? I think that was her name."

Eyeing Maka again, he cupped his hand in front of his mouth and stage whispered, "You should hear the things he says 'bout you in private-"

Her cheeks burned with more embarrassment as a blur practically flew over to them. Soul slapped his hand over Wes' mouth.

"Ignore him," Soul said a little more frantic than necessary. "He's a liar and a right old awful brother."

"Uh, okay," Maka said a little dumbfounded.

Soul dropped his hand from Wes' mouth, glared at him, and pointed at one of the girls who was struggling to get on her horse. There must have been some brotherly communication going on because without saying a word, Wes apparently knew what Soul was telling him. He opened his mouth, but pouted instead when his brother's glare deepened.

"Party pooper," he mumbled before walking off.

"I'm gonna go get on one of the horses," Jenna said before leaving Maka alone with Soul.

"Sorry 'bout that." His gaze dropped down to her shoes. "That's not pretty."

"You're telling me." She looked down at her shoes as well. "At least now Liz finally has a reason for me to throw them away. There's no way she'll let me wear these for casual Friday's at work."

"And going to work smelling like a ranch isn't ideal either?" he grinned.

"Yeah, that too."

He nodded and there was a small pause between them that was filled with the sounds of the girls as they mounted their own horses and the host telling the others about their excursion.

"I think you're 'bout Ma's size. She might have some old boots you can wear instead, and she'll be able to warsh those for you as well."

She gaped at him for a moment - not entirely sure how she felt about the _boots_ aspect of his promise - but nodded despite it. "Okay. Yeah. That sounds good."

"Follow me," he said.

None of the cameramen followed them as they headed toward the main house.

* * *

Soul opened the back door of the house and into a laundry room. There was a washer and dryer combo sitting on one side of the room beneath light brown wood cabinets. On the opposite side were four cubby-holes that held an assortment of things inside. A spare pair of boots sat in two of them and rope dangled from a peg in each of them. Plastered on top were oval silver name plates that had green cursive font that spelled out different names. Maka recognized all but one of them: Soul, Wes, and Blake. The fourth belonged to someone named Kilik who she hadn't met.

Someone she wasn't sure she ever would meet.

She was inspecting her new surroundings when not a minute inside, Maka heard the gallop of large paws as they skittered across hardwood. Little claws tip-tapped on linoleum as the source of the noised entered the room. Her gaze turned to the entrance in time to see a large black and white hairy dog bounding inside before it let out an excited bark and pressed two large paws against her chest. Maka squeaked at the impact, almost falling to the ground at the weight of the dog. Its wet nose sniffed her, and she snapped her eyes closed as a pink tongue gave her face small licks in random places.

"Oni! No!" Soul cried a little belatedly.

Between black, pink, white, and blinking to shield her eyes from dog slobber, Maka saw Soul maneuver behind the dog and tug on its collar as he tried to get him off her.

"Git off," he growled. The dog let out a small yelp as Soul forcibly yanked him back. "That's not how you greet people."

To Maka he said, "Sorry 'bout that. He's not used to havin' people over."

"It's okay. He didn't do anything too damaging," she said while wiping her face off with the back of her hand. Nevermind her aching chest from where the dog's paws had been. It took everything within her not rub them in front of Soul.

"Oglesby?" came a female voice from the room where the dog had come from.

Oni wiggled out of Soul's grasp, his tail wagging, and bounded forward to where the voice had come from. From around the corner, a blonde, stout woman no taller than Maka appeared carrying a slice of bacon which the dog gleefully accepted from her. His jaw bounced up and down as a little saliva dripped from the corner and he noisily chewed his food. The older woman smiled down at him, patted his head, and looked up toward Soul and Maka.

"Oh, hey, Soul. Didn't know you were coming back so soon." Her gaze fell to Maka; her smile turning warm and inviting as she did so. "Hello. Are you one of the girls from the show?"

Maka opened her mouth to respond, but Soul spoke first.

"Ma, what'd I tell you 'bout feedin' Oni table scraps?"

"I am not a child, Soul. I can feed whatev'r I want to this dog."

"He's a _dog_ , though. He's s'pposed to eat _dog_ food." Soul sighed and scratched in front of his ear. "You're gonna spoil him rotten."

"He's been spoiled since he was a puppy, you know that." She waved her hand in front of her as if fanning away the topic. "Doesn't matter, anyway. Let this girl introduce herself like she was gonna befor' you interrupted."

Mrs. Evans raised her eyebrows toward Maka indicating for her to speak. Soul looked at her over his shoulder and gave her an apologetic look.

"I'm Maka Albarn," she said with a little half wave and smile. "One of the girls from the show."

Soul's mom gave him a small smile before looking back at Maka. "Oh, so you're Maka. It's nice to put a face to a name finally. I'm Evelyn Evans, Soul's mom."

Evelyn walked toward Maka, and Maka immediately raised her hand for a handshake. The older woman came just above Maka's chest as she hugged her instead. Maka's hands flexed out beside her as she was unsure what to do for a few seconds before returning the hug. Soul's mom smelled like a mixture of apples and pie - a homely scent that comforted Maka and made her feel welcomed.

Giving her a tight squeeze, Evelyn released her from the hug and held her an arm's length away.

"We don't do handshakes in this family, dear. We do hugs," she smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling. It faltered a bit as she sniffed the air. Directing it to Soul, she asked, "What's that smell?"

"The reason we came in here." He gestured down to Maka's shoes. "She stepped in horse poop. Thought you might have a pair of extra boots she can borrow."

Evelyn dropped her gaze to Maka's shoes and cringed. "Ah, I see. Take those off and leave them in here. I think I have some old boots up in my room. I'll be right back."

With that, she turned on her heel and left the room, patting Oni on the way out.

Maka sat down in a stool that was nearby and carefully took her shoes off so that she didn't get horse poop on her hands. That was the last thing she needed for the day. As she wiggled her foot out of her shoe, she looked over at Soul who was rubbing the top of Oni's head while the dog's eyes became relaxed.

"Your mom seems nice," she commented.

"Mmm," he hummed. "Thanks."

A short pause between them.

"What kinda dog is Oni?"

"He's a border collie an' German shepherd mix."

"He's really pretty."

"Thanks."

Another pause between them.

"So why'd she call Oni _Oglesby_?" she asked out of curiosity.

Soul sighed and patted the dog's head twice before standing up straighter and stuffing his hands in his pockets. "It's his real name. Oni's just a nickname."

"How'd you get Oni from _Oglesby_ , though? Also, what kinda name is that for a dog? Most people just stick with Spot or Rexx. Simple names."

He snorted. "My parents named me Soul. Not exactly a normal name you hear everyday."

"But it's still a simple name. It's not Solomon or something weird. Like Maka."

"Maka's not a weird name," he said. He paused for a second as he no doubt mulled over her words before shrugging. "Guess you're right. If it was Wes who named me, probably would've ended up with somethin' like Oglesby Norbert Ichabod."

Her brows furrowed together in confusion.

"Wes named the dog. That's what Oni stands for. O for Oglesby, N for Norbert, and I for Ichabod."

"Oh. That makes sense." Her foot slipped out from the shoe she had been taking off, and she switched to work on the other one. "Still a weird name for a dog, though."

"That's Wes for ya. He likes doin' stuff like that."

"I'd hate to know what he'd name his kids."

Soul half-smiled at that. "He's not havin' kids, said so himself. Said that's why I'm here."

"That's good," she said as the other shoe came off easier than the first. "Would hate for them to be ridiculed for being called something like _Oglesby_."

"Yea, Oni gets picked on a lot from other animals for it enough already."

She stood up, her socked feet touching the cool linoleum floor, and smiled at him. "Imagine what kids'll say when they hear his real name."

He only smiled in response. She watched as he dropped his gaze down to his feet and the slight curve of his brows. "Cute socks."

Her eyes shot down to see which ones she had blindly chosen that morning and saw two different socks on her feet. The good news was that they were from the same bunch she had bought; the bad news was that they happened to be her Disney princess ones. One Rapunzel and the other Belle. She awkwardly tucked her feet toward her as she covered one with the other and felt a blush start over her cheeks.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

Soul opened his mouth to say something more, but Evelyn returned at that moment with a pair of light brown boots hanging from one hand.

"Here you go, sweetie," she said giving them to Maka. "Pair of clean ridin' boots you can wear 'round the farm." She stepped back and gave a small, knowing smile to her son who only rolled his eyes while the short exchange went over Maka's head.

Inspecting the shoes, she trailed her finger along the cotton candy and white stitching on the side. The design it made wasn't anything distinctive as it curved in and out on the sides, but it still looked pretty. She thanked Mrs. Evans before sitting back down in the chair to slide them on. They were a tad snug around her toes, only leaving enough room for her to wiggle them a bit, but they were still a good fit.

"They look good on you," Evelyn commented. She folded her arms in front of her chest and smiled at both Maka and Soul. "You two got a show to get going to now. It was nice meetin' you Maka. Hopefully we'll meet again."

Maka looked up at the clock that was sitting over the washer and dryer. She wasn't sure how long they had spent in there, but it must've been at least fifteen minutes or so.

"Marie'll be mad at us if we waste anymore time in here," she said to Soul. "It was nice meeting you too, Mrs. Evans."

"Evelyn, please. No need for formalities."

"Thank you, Evelyn," she smiled.

"Now git. The both of you. Y'all don't need Marie bein' angry with y'all," she said waving them both off.

"Bye, Oglesby," Maka directed to the dog who happily barked.

"Don't call him that," Soul groaned.

He walked behind her as she exited the house and left one reality for another.

* * *

Once outside, Maka had another - entirely different - dilemma to deal with.

She stood in front of the only horse without a rider: the one Soul had put a saddle on last. It was gorgeous with its round and pudgy belly, beautiful cinnamon hair, and chestnut fur with white strips. The issues didn't stand with horse herself, though; the issue had more do with the fact that Maka had never ridden a horse in her life. There was a vague idea of how to get up on one from the many times she had watched The Saddle Club repeat episodes, but it wasn't the same as actually doing it.

Looking over at Soul and Wes - the latter who was already mounted on his own horse while the former stood by Spitfire - she debated asking for their assistance. She thought better of it, though, as she turned back to her horse.

"Soul and Wes will be leading you girls to your destination," Marie said from the other side of the fence. "There will be a few cameras following you guys in the truck, and we have a drone filming above for a bird's eye view so you guys won't be completely free. Once you're there, three of you will be free to eat at the faux picnic we set up while one of you go on your date with Soul. Everyone good?"

There was a collective head nodding from the other bachelorettes minus Maka who stared wide eyed at the saddle and tried to figure out a way to get on it.

"Soul, once everyone's ready, you can ahead and get going."

"Yeah, okay," she heard him mumbled.

Quickly glancing at him, she watched as he grabbed the horn of the saddle, placed his foot in the stirrup, and pulled himself up. He made it look so effortless that hope fluttered around her heart as she hurriedly mimicked him. Though she didn't think they would, a voice inside her head fretted over them leaving her behind if she wasn't fast enough.

"Okay," she whispered to the mare. "We can do this - I can do this. Just stay still, alright?"

The horse made grunting noises in response and raised a hoofed foot off the ground before placing it back down. She took it to mean yes as she pressed down on the stirrup and tucked the toe of her boot under the mare's belly. Maka prepared to hoist herself up, but was surprised when the horse whinnied and walked forward.

"Wait! No!" she said, hopping on one foot as she was dragged a few inches. It took everything in her to wiggle her foot out of the stirrup so as to avoid a twisted ankle. "I wasn't ready!"

Grabbing the straps of its bridle, she glared at the horse and determinedly said, "We're gonna try this again, but this time you aren't gonna run forward, okay?"

There were a couple of giggles behind her as she went back to her original position, but ignored them. She was going to get up on that horse without embarrassing herself in the least possible way if it was the last thing she did. As soon as she hooked the toe of her boot beneath the mare's belly, it did the same thing as before. Except this time she wasn't able to wiggle her foot out smoothly from the stirrup and her ass meet grass with a hard thump causing her to gasp at the impact.

"Ow," she whimpered as she slowly got up.

She prayed that there were no cameras on to capture her rubbing her butt from the pain. Glancing around, though, told her otherwise.

"Great," she groaned. Wiping grass off herself, she angrily mumbled, "Can't wait to see myself continuously fall on my ass and step in horse shit on YouTube. 'merica's gonna eat this shit up like they have nothing better to do."

"You need help?" came a voice behind her. It startled her as she squeaked and jumped forward a bit. "Ah, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

Whipping her head around, she saw Soul standing there.

"You didn't _scare_ me. Surprised me, maybe, but didn't scare me," she tried to cover up. Her rapid beating heart and heightened senses told a different story, though. "I thought you were getting on your own horse."

"Was," he said, "but saw you needed help and came over."

From her peripheral, she saw a cameraman maneuver himself into an open space to get a better shot of the pair and fought the urge to growl at it. Exactly what she needed in that moment was more footage of her making a fool of herself.

"Can we hurry it up, please?" one of the girls groaned.

"Gotta make sure all y'all are all on horses first," Soul said over his shoulder before turning back to Maka. He raised his brows at her, and it took her a few seconds to connect the action to a reason. She had forgotten he had said something to her before the interruption.

"I don't need any help, thanks. I can do it on my own," she huffed. She walked over to the mare and got back in the position she had been in twice already and paused for a moment, waiting for Soul to leave. When he didn't, she said, "Don't you have your own horse to get on?"

"I do."

"So why aren't you going over there?"

He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "In no rush. Wanna see you get up there myself."

She didn't respond.

Instead she pursed her lips and glared at the saddle in front of her. She did want him to help her - it definitely would speed things along quicker - but with the cameras on her, she also didn't want him to. She was an independent woman who was fully capable of doing things on her own. Though it wasn't like she was close to getting up in the saddle on her own; she had the grass stains on her butt to prove that.

Pushing her pride away, Maka mumbled, "Can you help me get up?"

A low chuckle sounded from him. She peeked at him over her arm to see that he had dropped his arms and moved closer to her. "First you gotta know your mare's pregnant which is why she keeps movin' away from you," he quietly said to her.

"Pregnant?"

"Mhm, and you keep squishin' her belly which she doesn't like. Thinks you're hurting the baby."

"That makes sense."

Soul moved her foot back a few inches from where it sat in the stirrup and said, "Yeah. So what you wanna do is not use her to help hoist yourself up. Press down on the stirrup and use your own body strength to get your other leg over the saddle."

It definitely did make better sense now that she knew her horse was pregnant. It also explained why Soul had rubbed the mare's belly and made sure the saddle wasn't too tight around her middle.

"Alright," she nodded.

"And use your leg on the ground to help get you up too. You have muscle in your legs, right?" he teased.

"I can squeeze your head like a melon, if that's what you mean," she replied.

He chuckled at her response. "Okay then. Just gonna stand behind you in case you fall or anything."

"Not gonna fall this time, don't worry."

Maka counted down to three in her head - her arms feeling a bit tired from holding the horn for so long - and pulled herself up. She felt Soul's hands hovering a few inches away from her waist as she did so before swinging her other leg around. This time, her bottom met leather. Her heart pounded against her chest and her cheeks burned as she sat up on the horse grinning to herself. Tingles ran up her spine when she felt Soul's hand pressed against her lower back while the other one was on her hip.

Had he helped her up? She didn't remember.

Smiling down at him, she breathed out, "I did it."

"You good now?"

She nodded. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem." The brim of his hat tipped forward as he cordially nodded, but he didn't look back up at her when he spoke again. "See you out at the spot."

"See you."

She leaned forward, rubbed the side of her mare's neck and whispered, "Sorry 'bout hurting you earlier."

The horse only snorted in response.

Once Soul mounted Spitfire, Marie wasted no time in telling the crew that were going to be following them to start filming. Blake drove the truck that one of the cameras was set up on while a dark-skinned boy drove the other one. A drone buzzed overhead as it fly in the sky to give the show the aerial view they needed for the shot.

Maka spent a majority of her riding time admiring the pretty scenery as they followed Soul and Wes. Rolling blue skies went on for miles and miles with white clouds dusting the canvas in different spots. The sun brightly shone down on them as they went, its rays warming her exposed skin. A few cows with a variety of coat patterns grazed out in the pasture as they travelled further onto the property.

Taking a deep breath in, she exhaled with a small sigh. Everything was fresh and clean in her new environment, and she very much appreciated every second she was out there. She felt herself falling more and more in love with it as well. Even with the Hollywood-esque vibe from the camera crew that followed them around constantly, Texas still held a homely feel about it. It brought a smile to her face and warm feeling to her heart.

Facing forward again, Maka thought she saw carmine eyes staring at her beneath the brim of hat, but when she blinked, Soul had his back to her. She excused it as a trick of her imagination.

* * *

Maka clicked on the small portable camera sitting on a tripod at the spot that they rode to. Behind her, the trees and fields served as a replacement for the green screen, but the same blinking red light.

"Texas is so beautiful," she whispered. The girls and everyone else were yards away from her, but she still feared they were going to hear her _somehow_. "I've never been out in the south because Papa gets bad hay fever and Mama never cared to go over here, but it's prettier than I expected it to be. I love it out here, I really do. The ride out here was really nice, and I'm glad Marie thought of that."

She smiled to herself. Scenic destinations weren't that foreign to the show, and the Evans ranch gave them the perfect opportunity to use their favorite gimmick when it came to romance.

"I'm curious to know what my date with Soul will entail. Apparently we're all doing something different? I'm not entirely sure, but if Marie's behind it then it's bound to be fun and interesting. We'll see what happens." She paused to lick her lips. "I'm still not sure about Soul, though. How I feel about him, I mean. He's a nice guy, yes, but… It'll be interesting to see what happens."

Smiling, she clicked the camera off.

* * *

Soul led her down a dirt path deeper into the woods that bordered the ranch with a cameraman close behind them. He had taken the other girls the same way for their dates - conveniently leaving Maka for last like he did at every rose ceremony. She tried to ask him questions about where he was taking her, but he refused to give her a straight answer. All his responses had been vague and misleading: they were going for a swim, art supplies, stick figures. Nothing that was concrete enough for her to tie the strings together.

They reached an opening in the trees that seemed to be natural rather than man-made. In the middle laid a checkered blanket with a large storage box in the middle. Maka remembered seeing the crewmembers bring in four different ones in varying colors into the thicket of trees before the first girl left for their date. Everything had been planned down to the T apparently. Except she wasn't able to see what was inside; the grey bottom of the box concealed the contents inside and she was dying to know what was in there.

"So what are we doing?" she asked Soul for the hundredth time it seemed.

"Art supplies."

She sighed. "You said that already, and I know that's not what's in there."

"Go check for yourself then."

Maka thought about forcing him to tell her, but decided it was better not to.

"Alright," she huffed. "I'll play your game."

Walking over to the box, she kneeled down, popped the sides open, and pulled back the lid to reveal what was inside. There were about ten sketch pads inside - each of them with different page counts and sizes - along with colored pencils, markers, expensive sketching pencils, and other _art supplies_ that she had back in her apartment.

"You were telling the truth," she said a little shocked.

"I was," he said as he sat down on the ground beside her. He took his hat off and rested on top of the blanket before speaking again. "You said you studied art in college, and I thought it'd be fun if you gave me some one-on-one art class."

"We didn't need all of these for that, though. You know that, right?"

He shrugged. "The crew were the ones who bought everything. Not me."

Maka looked at the cameraman. "We didn't need this many."

The man shrugged in response.

Taking out one of the sketchbooks, Maka handed it to Soul along with a pencil before taking one for herself. If she was going to teach him, she was going to do so properly. Which meant starting with the basics of drawing and working their way up from there. Though, in all honesty, she wasn't expecting this kind of date. It was more personal than the ones she had seen on the show in past seasons, and she felt Marie didn't have a say when it came to brainstorming what they were going to be doing. Soul seemed to have more control over what went on as far as dates than he let on; especially when she knew something as mundane as teaching someone how to draw wasn't what The Bachelor way.

Soul was able to pick up the basics of drawing fairly quickly which came by no surprise to her. In her experience, it was mostly children who found it difficult to begin drawing. They always wanted to rush things and get straight to drawing what they had in mind rather than sketching it out first. But Soul was a grown man; he had a general idea like most people did of what it took to actually draw.

What he had difficulty with was creating the clean lines from his sketch.

She leaned forward to look over his shoulder and saw that horse she had started him out with - because she felt animals were easier for beginners since they didn't have hands - looked less like a horse and more like a pig.

"That's good," she commented. "But maybe you should try to keep your lines a little straighter? Less curvy around the nose because horses have long noses… Not short ones."

He sighed and tilted back on his hands. "I know. It looks horrible. Why don't you show me how you do it."

"Well, I kinda got farther than you, but remember I went to school for this. This is your first time so I have a higher advantage." She showed him the page of her sketchbook she had been working on, and knew right away what he thought of her drawing.

Her lines were smoother, lighter than his as she knew how to work a pencil. She didn't press it hard against the paper as she drew out her lines unlike him. He had spent a good ten minutes breaking five pencils because he kept pressing them too hard on the paper.

"That looks good," he said. "Really good. You're definitely an artist."

"You can be good, too. It just takes time. People don't get better at things automatically. They work hard, and I've been drawing for years. You started, what, twenty minutes ago?"

Maka scooted closer to him and pulled his sketchbook closer to her. Taking his left hand with her right, she stuck her pencil between his fingers and guided his hand as she lightly traced over his original sketch. She was close enough to him that she felt the heat vibrate of his body and his chest grow still when her skin touched his. His breath was warm as it hit her face. With her other hand, she pulled her hair to the side so that it cascaded over her shoulder.

Heart pounding against her chest, she tried to focus on the task at hand rather than the intruding thoughts about bad breath and body odor.

"You wanna keep your lines light and easy the first time you go over them and do harder ones later so that it's easier to erase the sketch," she told him. She guided his hand with the pencil along the curve of the horse's snout. "This way you'll have cleaner lines as well."

"Mm," he hummed.

She didn't dare look at him was she led him along the lower jaw of the horse he had drawn. It wasn't until the line connected with the neck that she turned and smiled at him - green eyes meeting red. They were inches away from each other and her body felt weird as she stared at him wide eyed. Sucking in a deep breath, she released his hand from hers and scooted back to where she had been before. Their knees bumped against each other as she tucked her feet underneath her and she smiled.

"It's really simple once you get it down."

He lazily looked down at the sketchbook. "I can see that."

His cheeks turned a bright shade of red as he stared down at it, and she noticed the slight twitch of his mouth as he tried to fight back a smile. She needed a subject change - anything to draw their minds away from the moment before - so she said the first thing that came to her mind.

"I listened to your music, by the way." Slowly, he looked up and blankly stared at her. "The playlist on your iPod that you wanted me to listen to. I did it the other night, and I really liked it. It's no Taylor Swift or anything, but it's still good."

"Give it some time, and maybe you'll like real music," he smirked.

Maka lightly hit his arm, but smiled nonetheless. "Don't be such a music snob. I probably can never get into the jazz songs that were on there, but I really liked the piano pieces. Do you remember who they were by? I checked, but there was no artist. Just vague song titles."

"Piano pieces?" he asked, eyes wide with fear.

Cocking her head to the side in confusion, she nodded. "Mhm. They were really eerie - reminded me of a Tim Burton film - so I know they aren't any well-known pianists."

The life seemed to drain out of him as he stared back down at the sketchpad. He scratched the side of his face, and if his cheeks hadn't been beet red before, they definitely were now. She found it difficult to connect the pieces together; it didn't make sense why he was reacting like this over the piano pieces. If she didn't know any better, she would have said they were his, but he didn't seem to be the type to play an instrument other than the guitar.

Her gaze dropped down to his fingers. While they were calloused like a musicians, he was also rancher and professional bullrider. She didn't know much about either one, but she was able to guess that he did a lot of work with his hands which explained the callouses. So why was he acting so _strange_?

Laying her hand over his forearm, she gave it a gentle squeeze. "What's the matter? You look like you saw a ghost or something."

Soul cleared his throat and picked his hat up off the ground, settling back on his head. When he spoke again, he hid his face beneath the brim like she had seen him do so many times before.

"You really liked it?"

"Mhm. It felt like the person who wrote the piece was trying to convey their emotions into the song, and it was personal. From the heart. I liked that about it."

He nodded once then twice. "There's another playlist on there with more if you wanna listen to them."

"Are they by the same artist?"

"Yea. It's the one titled Black Blood."

She snorted at the title. "Black Room and Black Blood? Where do you come up with these titles?"

His face was calm and composed as he looked back up at her with a small smile. "Not everything is what it seems on the surface, Maka."

"What do you-?" Her question was cut short when he stood up and dusted off his jeans.

"Guess we should be getting back now. Thanks for showing me how to draw."

Taking the hand he offered her, she allowed him to help her up. "You're welcome. And if you keep practicing, I'm sure you'll be able to improve in no time."

"You really are a teacher," he said before leading the way back out to the rest of the group.

* * *

Maka toyed with the edges of the iPod later that debating if she wanted to listen to the playlist Soul had recommended or not. She was a tad bit curious to hear more by the artist she had heard the other night. Sticking the end of her earphones into the jack of the device, she scrolled through it with the white pinwheel in the middle until she found the playlist in question.

The first song started out similar to the others. A pounding of the keys as the pianist hit the first chord before going into an almost manic performance, but there was something different about this song. It sounded more like the person had recorded themselves perform rather than it being in a studio with professionals. She listened as the pianist took in sharp breaths and breathed out with each chord he played making it sound like he was breathing in time with the music.

Emotions rolled through her as the mixture of music and sighs sounded in her ears. She felt the pain of the performer as they released everything they felt into that one song, saw the turmoil through the sinister notes that resonated from the piano. A deep desire to hug the person and remind them it was going to be okay in the end rushed through her. The person's pain and sorrow strung a chord within her as she remembered the dark times that had fallen over her home when her parents fought.

Closing her eyes, memories she had repressed for years flashed in her mind. Her papa sneaking off to meet up with his hooker friends, her mama packing a suitcase when she was done with her husband's antics, and a little girl who wished love was as easy as it was in books. They all flew to the forefront of her mind as the song finished. The performer's pants beat against her eardrums before they faded and went to the next one.

She didn't listen to it, though.

Instead, she paused the music and tucked the iPod under her pillow where she had hidden it from before. She didn't want to remember her past; she wanted to look forward to the future because it was always brighter on the other side. But even as she told herself that, her heart refused to believe it.

Liz's words were the last thing she heard before she fell asleep.

 _Give love a chance, Maka._

* * *

At the rose ceremony that week, Maka stood in the second row. Soul called the girls one by one like had done previously and stared at her with each name he said. Except this time he added a slight hint of a smirk that she couldn't help but return no matter how hard she fought against it. When he reached the final rose, she didn't have to guess who he was going to call because deep down she knew. She wasn't surprised when she heard her name float through his mouth, the same warm ring surrounding it as he did so.

"Maka."

She locked eyes with him as she slowly descended down the few steps and crossed the threshold. Her hand curled around the rose as she smiled up at him.

"Maka, will you accept this rose?" he asked, a small smile tugging at the edge of his lips.

"Yes."

He released the flower and she walked over to stand beside Blair, standing tall as she continued on to the next week of being on The Bachelor. Slowly she felt her own walls start to fall as she stared at Soul from where she stood, and she made the decision that opening her heart might not be such a bad thing.


	5. Country Dancing & Sunflower Fields

**Country Dancing & Sunflower Fields**

Maka somehow found herself behind the barn in a fenced off area with a bucket of feed and chickens pecking the ground around her. She wasn't sure how it had happened. All she remembered was wandering around the property with one of the cameramen when suddenly Wes popped up, forced the bucket in her hands, and left. Even the cameraman had been surprised by Wes' antics.

Taking a fist full of the feed, she sprinkled it in front of her as the chickens pecked and ate it. She waved to the cameraman who awkwardly and shyly waved back. Maka had seen them - she wasn't entirely sure what gender they were - following her and the others while filming, but she had never asked what their name was. It always seemed like the person was too nervous to talk to anyone that wasn't Marie, and seemed out of place amongst the rest of the crew. Naturally, she sought to help them feel more comfortable being there. As was the norm for her when it came to people like them.

"Ow!"

She jumped back as a fat, black chicken pecked at her leg, begging for more food. A few pieces of feed fell to the ground which drew its attention away from her.

"Eat that, not my skin, you heathen!"

She bent over to inspect the bite. A few curses were mumbled under her breath upon seeing that the fowl had broken skin. Thin, red blood dripped down her leg; it wasn't enough to kill her, but it was enough for her to consider murdering the chicken. It had already snacked on her leg five times since she had been given the feed, and in her book that was five times too many.

"Ah! No you don't!" she yelled, jumping back from the devil incarnate himself as it went for her again. "Stupid, pea-brained - Here!"

Another fistful of feed flew out of her hand as it rained over the chickens. The one that had taken a liking to human flesh attacked it first. It was no wonder that it was the biggest one in the coop; it was a bully.

"I hope Evelyn cooks you for dinner one of these days," she mumbled. "Or sends you to the slaughter house so you can become dinner for someone else."

"Ma usually slaughters her own chickens," came a familiar voice behind her.

"Tell her I said to kill this one first." Maka looked over her shoulder to see Soul standing on the other side of the fence. One leg was propped up on the bottom board while he hunched over the top. "What're you doing here? Thought you were on a date with Blair."

"I was. It ended already." He nodded to the space in front of her. "Chicken's coming back."

"Son of a-!" She swung her leg out of range of the same beast and dumped more feed in front of it. "What kinda chickens are you raising here? Flesh eating ones?"

"Nah, just ones that like eatin' you," he grinned.

Her eyes narrowed at him as she dryly said, "Haha, very funny." She took another fistful of the animal feed and sprinkled it on the ground before the murderous chicken decided to snap at her again. Setting the bucket against her hip, she said, "You didn't answer my question. What are you doing out here?"

He shrugged and looked over at the camera person. "See you got company."

The tech hid behind their camera and said, "Y-yes, sir. I don't mean to interrupt, though. I-it's just part of my job."

Soul raised his hand, palm up, and gave the person an apologetic smile. "Ah, don't worry. Not mad or anything."

Maka gave the tech a reassuring smile to ease their worries as well.

"To be honest, I kinda got used to 'em bein' here," Soul directed to her.

"Really?"

"Kinda."

"I'll take that as your way of saying no then."

"You know me so well," he said nonchalantly. She sprinkled feed over the chickens again as he spoke. "I came over to tell you that our date's later tonight."

"I thought it was tomorrow. Didn't they want them on different days?"

"Change of plans," he said, reaching behind him and revealing a plaid red shirt. When next he spoke, he kept his gaze down so that the brim of his hat concealed half his face. For a brief moment, she thought his cheeks were pinker but excused it as being out in the sun. "Brought you this to wear, too. Figured you didn't have the right attire for where we're going."

She stared at the shirt and tried to figure out where it was they were going that required her to wear it. But her brain failed to connect plaid with anything she had experienced before. Unless it had something to do with lumber jacking and cutting wood, of course. That was the only explanation she came up with; she highly doubted Soul was secretly a lumberjack, though.

"Can you tell me where we're going that plaid is a requirement?" she finally caved and asked. "Unless it's out to cut wood like lumberjacks, I'm coming up blank."

He chuckled to himself and grinned wide and toothy at her that made his eyes turn two shades lighter. "Can't tell you, but I can say that you'll probably wanna wear Ma's boots as well."

Maka looked down at the shoes in question. They were more comfortable than she expected them to be after years of being broken in most likely, and were quite practical for walking around the ranch. She didn't have to worry about mud seeping through the leather to get her socks wet or ruining her shoes from manure. It surprised her more than it should've and more than she was willing to admit.

"As long as it has nothing to do with manure, I'm fine," she said, turning her attention back to him.

Soul scoffed. "I'm more romantic than that."

"Considering it's Marie who chooses the dates, I highly doubt that."

"Marie didn't plan that last one."

"First timers luck," she said with a sly smile.

"She didn't plan this one, either," he flatly said.

Her eyes narrowed. "Don't try to take credit for Marie's ideas. I know she's the producer of this show and the one calling all the shots. You can't trick me."

"If you say so," he sighed. There was a slight curve of his mouth as he smirked, though. "Chicken."

He said it so calmly that it took Maka longer than it should have to look at the creature in question.

The black chicken jumped and flapped its wings as it sort of flew at her. Maka's reaction time was slow, though. Her leg moved out of the creatures path, but not quickly enough as its beak snapped at her skin. It took another small bite at her leg before landing behind her, and Maka cursed as the wound stung.

"You son of a - Argh! I'm so gonna kill you!" she screamed while it bawked and ruffled its feathers.

Behind her, she heard Soul laughing and whirled around, green eyes glaring daggers at him. The thought of how adorable his laugh was as his shoulders shook and he flashed a genuine smile at her briefly crossed her mind before being replaced with her anger.

"It's not funny!"

"From where I'm standin', it is," he said a little breathless. "Jus' can't catch a break with the chicken, can ya?"

"My leg is bleeding, and you're telling me you think it's funny?"

"It's just a scratch," he waved off.

She growled under her breath and pursed her lips. "Let's see how funny it is when you're the one being attacked," she mumbled to herself.

Taking a handful of the feed, she tossed it toward an unsuspecting Soul. Sure enough, the chickens followed suite and ran over in his direction with the blood-thirsty one in front. The brim of his hat lifted as he looked up to see them coming at him. There was a brief look of panic on his face as he jumped away from the fence with a small scream of terror.

Maka burst into a fit of laughter as he fell flat on his butt.

"'S'not funny," he said, taking his hat off and shaking it before pushing himself off the ground

"It is from where I'm standing," she echoed. She laughed at him again as the same chicken leapt up when another got underneath it. "What? Afraid of a chicken?"

He placed his hat back on top of his head and angrily pouted. "Jus' the murderous kind."

"Aww, are you seriously afraid of a little chicken?" she teased.

"No!"

"Because it seems to me that you're afraid of-"

"I'm not afraid of it!" he cut in. "'sides, weren't you the one tryin' to get away from it a few minutes ago?"

"That was different," she countered. "The damn thing was taking a bite out of me for no other reason besides the fact that I'm over here. You jumped away from it when there was a fence between you two."

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and huffed, crossing his arms in front him. Maka stood a little straighter at winning the argument and gave him a smug smile. She had more reason to be scared of the chicken than he did considering she was the one inside the fence with it.

"The thing can jump," he tried to defend but his voice sounded defeated nonetheless.

"But you have more skin covered than me."

His eyes automatically shot straight to her shorts, and she felt more than saw them slide down her legs. She suddenly felt self-conscious as she hugged the bucket of feed to her.

"Don't check me out!"

Carmine snapped back up to meet emerald. "Then don't talk 'bout your skin if you don't want me looking." He pursed out his lips and mumbled under his breath, cheeks turning redder by the second. "Ain't got a reason to check you out anyway."

Maka rolled her eyes. "Say whatever you want to protect your manhood, but I know what I saw. Perv."

"I'm not a perv! You were the one who brought your skin to my attention. If I was checking you out, it's your own fault."

She opened her mouth to counter his argument, but closed it promptly after realizing he did have a point. If she hadn't said anything, he wouldn't have found the need to give her a once-over. Still, she wasn't one to back down that easily.

"At least I'm not afraid of a chicken!" she said. She stuck her tongue out for good measure.

"I'm not afraid-"

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as Maka threw another wave of chicken feed his way. The black monster from before leapt up and almost snapped a bite of Soul's finger that had been dangling over the fence, but he jumped back with a yelp before it could. She cackled at the sight.

"Told you you were afraid of the chicken!"

"I'm not-" He lowly growled under his breath and looked at the camera person. "You film all that?"

The poor tech looked like they were ready to run away as they shied away from Soul and hid behind their camera. "M-miss Marie wants us to film everything. I'm sorry."

"It's a reality TV show, Soul," Maka said. "Of course they're gonna film everything. Now America will know it's bachelor is afraid of a chicken."

"I'm not…" he started before trailing off and hunching over like a wounded man.

His hand the side of his face as he sighed.

The laughter died down from her as she watched him, and she felt a little bad for being a dick to him. After chiding him for doing the same thing her first night there, it wasn't fair for her to go around and be one as well. Even though her words were meant to be more teasing than mean-hearted. Usually she saved it for when she knew the person after a few months - not weeks. Guilt weighed heavily down on her like a cast iron fist. She dropped her shoulders solemnly and bit her bottom lip.

"Look, I'm-"

"I'm not scared of the chicken, and I'm gonna prove it," he cut in.

Her head cocked to the side in confusion. "Huh? You're gonna - wha?"

Soul's chest heaved up and down as he took a deep breath. Maka stared at him wondering what exactly was going through his mind. She had blatantly been teasing him about the chicken, and now he was going to do what? Kill the chicken? To prove that he wasn't afraid of it? That didn't make any sense.

He placed his hands on top of the fence and grunted as he pushed himself up. Her brows knitted together when he swung a leg over the fence so that he was straddling it. His other leg moved to mimic the first, except the toe of his boot caught on the top plank, and everything afterward happened in slow motion. Soul's eyes bulged as he tipped forward; his hands flew out to the side, flapped like a newborn bird trying to fly, before he fell face first onto the ground.

Needless to say, she wasted no time laughing at him.

"Was that your grand plan?" she cried in-between her laughter. "Falling on your face?"

Through her tears, she saw Soul pick his head up and spit dirt out of his mouth. The glare he gave her was a watery mess as she continued to laugh. Her sides hurt, and the bucket of feed had long since hit the ground spilling the contents inside. Chickens wasted no time as they pecked at it. She bent down to grab a handful of it and tossed it on top of Soul where he had managed to at least roll on his back.

"Ah! No!" he yelled when a few chickens jumped over to eat the feed she had thrown. "Godda - Ugh!"

Maka continued to throw feed at him as he unhooked his leg from the fence and tried to get away from the evil creatures.

"Would you stop?"

Her laughter had toned down to fitful giggles which made talking manageable again. "Nope. This is too much fun!"

A few splutters of dirt and animal feed later, Soul finally stood up. His hat remained upside down where it had fallen when he fell which coincidentally was also where the chickens were busy eating. She grinned at the slight mix of horror and acceptance on his face when he realized it was hopeless getting it back.

"Go on," she pushed. "Get your hat. I'm sure your mom has some bandages in the house."

Red eyes narrowed in her direction. "I'd rather keep all ten o' my fingers, thanks."

"But what's a cowboy without his hat?" she teasingly asked.

"I'm gonna get you back." His voice said he was angry, but the twitch of his mouth told a different story.

"What are you - Eek!" The noise that had come out of her sounded like a mix between a tiny kitten and a shriek as Soul suddenly started chasing after her.

She high-tailed it - running around in circles in the small chicken coop with Soul hot on her heels. Laughter filled the small area as they both ran and the camera person filmed the entire thing. Maka jumped over a few chickens and fallen debris that were in her way as she tried to escape from Soul. Chickens squawked and flew out their way when they passed by. Neither of them miraculously tripped during the chase which she wasn't sure would have been more embarrassing for her or for him.

It wasn't until she felt strong arms wrap around her waist that she knew Soul had caught him up to her. A squeal broke through the chicken coop as she was lifted off the ground. She playfully beat her fists against his arms and kicked her feet out in front of her. Though she was struggling to get away, her excitement was clear as day as she giggled and smiled - a wave of happiness and warmth floating through her body. Too much time had passed since she had this much fun with someone of the opposite sex.

"Put me down, Soul!"

"You really want that?" he heaved behind her.

"Yes!"

"As you wish."

He grunted as he threw her to the side and into a pile of - what she prayed was clean - hay. Her face got a good helping of the scratchy, yellow straw; a few pieces got stuck to her mouth that she had to unattractively spit out.

"Is this clean?" was the first question out her mouth and the only thing she wanted to know.

"Yea."

She rolled onto her back to look at him, a satisfied grin on his face as he looked back. "What was that for?"

"Payback."

"I didn't toss you on the ground, though. You did that yourself, clumsy." Her tone was only slightly intimidating, and the smile on her face didn't help her in matters of being angry - that much she knew for sure.

Soul chuckled. His eyes sparkling as he did so. "I'll at least help you up."

Her hand slid in his as he pulled her back onto her feet. She straightened her clothes out and picked out the hay that was sticking out on the sides.

"Ah, you got, uh-" He motioned to his own hair. "You got some hay there."

She looked up like she was actually able to see it and felt around the top of her head for the object in question. There were a few pieces of straw stuck in her ponytail that she pulled out, letting them float to the ground. Once she was done cleaning herself up, she smiled at Soul.

"Thanks for, uh, telling me bout the straw."

It wasn't what she had actually wanted to say, but she also wasn't sure what she did want to say. The words were there, she felt them, but they weren't being communicated through her mind. They were buried deep inside her; locked away after years and years from lack of usage.

"You're welcome." He inhaled deeply and sighed; pink dusted his cheeks as he shyly smiled. "I'll meet you at seven for our date? When the sun goes down."

"Um, yeah. Yeah that's fine." As an afterthought, she added, "Where's the shirt you were gonna give me to wear?"

He pointed over his shoulder where it rested on the fence post. "Didn't wanna get it dirty."

"Yeah, I'd hate for it to have gotten ruined when you fell," she teased.

Soul laughed at that. "Would hate for the murderous chicken to mistake it for human blood and tear it apart."

It was her turn to giggle. "That would be a tragedy not even Shakespeare himself could write."

There was a small moment of non-awkward silence between them. Maka thought she saw Soul sway a bit toward her. The idea of him kissing her briefly crossed her mind as hope fluttered in her heart of its own accord, but turning her gaze back on him, she knew it was false. His hands were stuffed in his pockets as he remained standing still and smiling down at her.

"See ya later," he said. He put his hand on her arm and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah. Later."

She did a half-wave as he left the coop through the gate.

"Not gonna try and hop the fence again?" she teased.

"Not worth the risk," he called over his shoulder.

It took her several seconds longer than it should a regular human being to realize she was inadvertently staring at his ass as he walked away. She quickly looked away, her cheeks burning, before going to grab the shirt from the post and leaving as well.

* * *

She was dressed and ready close to two hours early. Her legs swung out idly over the edge of the bed as time slowly ticked by. It wasn't in her original plan to be done so soon; in all honesty, she wasn't going to do anything until six. But then a few of the girls bugged her about the date - asking where she was going, what Soul had planned for her - and she decided better of it. Even taking more time to bathe.

Despite that, she was still done earlier than expected and bored out of her mind.

A heavy sigh filled the room for the hundredth time in the last thirty minutes. She flipped on her side to watch Blair as she painted her toenails. The small brush delicately coated her big toe in a purple, iridescent color while her tongue stuck out in pure concentration.

Since she had decided to open her heart to love, she was ten times more nervous than normal about this date. It was like waking up with a new set of eyes; she saw the world in a different color. Her chest was staticy with anxiety. It wasn't going to be like in the past where her intentions had been to get to know Soul as a friend. They had changed to get to know him with the purpose of the show, and she wasn't sure if she was ready for it.

Dating was easier when she knew it wasn't going to turn into something serious.

"You got any tips for me?" she asked the older woman, hoping for some kind of distraction as time droned on.

"Yep." Blair popped the P like a balloon. "Don't sleep with him on the first date."

"Blair!"

"You're right. You two have been on at least three dates by now so I guess it's fine to sleep with him."

"Blair, I'm not sleeping with Soul."

The older woman finished painting her second toe before looking over at Maka with puckered lips. "Nyah you're no fun. Where else is America gonna get their juicy drama for the show?"

"I'm sure they have plenty with Meredith and Natalie's confessional sessions."

It was true. The pair had raked up the most time spent in the little room on the first floor complaining and gushing over the show.

"Mm, suppose you're right. Though a scandal where you and Soul sneak off somewhere together would be fun," she mused. There was a brief moment of silence between them. "You nervous for your date?"

Maka chewed on her bottom lip as she debated on whether to tell the truth or not.

"No, not really. It's Soul. Not some random stranger," she lied. "I just wish I knew where we were going."

"He didn't tell you?"

"Nope."

"Hmm," Blair hummed. "And he gave you that shirt?"

"Yeah."

She picked white fuzzies off the plaid shirt she had on. It didn't sit on her the way she usually liked her clothes to - it was a little too loose - but it was comfortable. To save herself from flashing people, though, she had put on a tan tank top underneath, and it gave her freedom to keep it unbuttoned. Liz would be proud of her for doing so as well. It showed off her girly figure rather than hid them like the shirts she wore to work and on weekends.

The only off-putting thing about the plaid shirt was the lingering scent of a man's cologne.

"He said it was appropriate for where we were going."

"That man likes to keep things mysterious," Blair said. "I think you'll have fun tonight whatever it is you two're doing. Meanwhile, I'm gonna get to know his brother."

For a moment, Maka was caught of guard. "Wait. What?"

Blair twisted the cap back on her nail polish and hopped off the bed. "Gotta go shower. I'll see you after your date with Mr. Right!"

"Wait! What do you mean you're - Nevermind," she huffed as the woman had already ran out of the room faster than Flash himself.

Maka checked the digital clock on the nightstand behind her to see that she had managed to waste an hour and a half with Blair.

Groaning, she fell back onto the bed in a Jesus pose. There were no TVs in the house and their electronics had been confiscated so there was nothing for her to distract herself with. She did still have Soul's iPod, but there were no games on it. Her only other option was to communicate with the other bachelorettes, but she wasn't much in the mood to squeal over her date with Soul.

A bird tweeted outside the window drawing her attention away from the ceiling. The sky outside was a pretty vibrant blue with white cotton candy clouds staining it. An image of sunflowers gently blowing in the wind flashed in her mind, and she didn't have to think twice. She slid off the bed, stuffed her socked feet in Evelyn's spare boots, and made her way outside to where the flowers were.

* * *

The last time she had been in a sunflower field, she was seven and her parents were still together. It was before her papa had gone and fucked up his relationship with his wife - both figuratively and literally. It was before she knew anything about her papa's infidelity and secrets and lies; before he hurt her mama and indirectly his daughter as well. It was also one of the happiest memories she had from her childhood.

When things were tough, it was always the sunflowers that came to her mind first. The way the yellow petals stuck out around the large brown center and followed the sun as it paved a path in the sky. The intricate details that littered the inside; how yellow and green and brown merged together to create the center of the flower. Fuzzies as they stuck out along the stem to tickle her fingers when she brushed against them. Sunflowers were sundresses and smiling parents as they watched their daughter run across the mud staining her pink shoes. They were stolen kisses when the parents thought their daughter wasn't looking, and the sweet smell of summer.

They were her child innocence before it went up in flames.

Even now in her adulthood the flowers brought back the memories she held so dear to her heart. Rows and Rows of yellow stretched out around her a few yards away from the main house. A small smile danced on the edge of her mouth as she reached out to cradle one of the flowers in her hand and leaned in to smell it. There wasn't a floral scent like most flowers. It was a smell more similar to that of hiking through the woods on an early Sunday morning: fresh, green, and alive.

Smiling, she stood back up, stretched out her back, and fell to the ground. Her hands curled into the cool dirt beneath, little chunks sticking between her nails and skin. She was tempted to take off her boots and socks, but thought better of it since they weren't the easiest type of shoe to take off. While her Converse slipped on and off, boots were a bit troublesome to put on.

Either way, it didn't take away from being out there.

Maka stared up at the sky. Yellow petals gently danced in the wind as they reached out for the sun's rays above. A few clouds lazily floated by like sailboats in the ocean, and the sun warmed her skin as she sat there. She closed her eyes and allowed her senses to feel the world for her. From the wind as it whispered through the trees to the buzz of a bee as it flew around the giant flowers, she felt it all. How they tickled against her skin and wrapped her in warm summer blanket. For a brief moment, she forgot she was on a dating show.

For a brief moment, she was seven again and running through a sunflower field in California.

It wasn't until she heard the rustling of flowers that she remembered where she was.

"Oh, no," she gasped, her eyes wide open. "The date."

She looked in the direction that the sun was in to determine the time. Upon seeing that it was closer to the horizon than she remembered before, she assumed it couldn't be more than half an hour to six. Five at the earliest. It wasn't completely clear. The whole telling time via the sun teaching had never been taught to her so any guess was good enough.

"Should still go back to the house," she mumbled to herself.

Dusting dirt off her hands in front of her, she made to get up when a white, mopey head poked out from the wall if yellow and into her little clearing. Her heart that had calm moments before started to beat wildly at the sight of Soul. A rush of excitement and warmth rushed through her, and she forgot to breath for a second.

"Maka, you alri-" He stopped mid-sentence and blinked There was a slight shine on his forehead as if he had been running for a while. "Oh. You're fine."

"Yeah. Why I wouldn't I be?" Her brows scrunched together at the same time that he rubbed the back of his neck. "Why'd you come out here?"

"Uh..." he trailed off. Pink faintly tinted his cheeks as he stood there; he seemed to mumble his words when he spoke again. "Saw you walkin' out here and then fall. Thought you might've - uh - fainted or somethin'."

"Oh," she said. "I was only sitting down to buy time until our date. Guess it might have looked like I collapsed or something from wherever you were."

She hugged her knees in closer to her body and smiled at him, a little confused as to why he went out there, but flattered all the same that he was willing to check on her.

"You were just… Just sittin'. Right." He rubbed the back of his neck, lips pursed slightly, and blushed harder. "Shoulda realized that. Sorry."

"Don't be. You didn't know."

"Why're you sitting on the ground, anyway?" he asked like an afterthought. "Aren't you worried bout getting dirty?"

"It's just dirt. I can dust myself off when I get up, and if that doesn't work, a little dirt never hurt anyone," she said, waving off his last question like it was nothing. "And I'm sitting here because - I dunno," she shrugged, "it seemed like a good idea. Haven't you ever just sat out here for no reason?"

Of course, she had a reason for sitting out there, but that wasn't Soul's business.

"Uh, no?" he nervous laughed. Crossing his arms, he continued. "Isn't it a little silly to be sittin' on the ground, though?"

Her lips pursed out at his comment. "No. Maybe if you went and sat in the middle of the pasture where the cows and horses are, but you're with sunflowers out here. It's different. Don't have to worry about sitting in anything that came out of an animal's rear end."

He chuckled at that. "Well, most people who've been on a ranch long enough know to look where they're goin'."

"I haven't been on one long enough to know that so I have an excuse."

"Most people are smart enough to know to look, too."

"I am smart enough!" she said, puffing her cheeks out. "I just wasn't paying attention when it happened. Besides, your mom's gonna clean my shoes off anyways. Surprised they aren't done yet."

"It's been a week. Pretty sure they are if you want 'em."

She mulled it over for a bit - debating on trading the boots for her Converse again - but thought against it. While her other shoes were comfortable, there was something about the boots that made her feel like she belonged on the ranch. A feeling she much enjoyed having. Even if she wasn't the kind of girl who roped and wrangled cows and did other ranch type things.

"I'll ask her the next time I see her. I kinda like these boots," she said.

"Glad to hear that." He took a step forward and made to join her, but then thought about it again and stepped back, rubbing his neck as he did so. "Guess I'll leave you to yourself. Sorry to intrude on you and your, uh, time with nature?"

Maka blankly stared at him for a few seconds before shaking her head slightly. "You didn't intrude. It's nice to have company sometimes, and I don't mind yours."

Red consumed his cheeks that she waved off as nothing more than the sun shining down on him and not at the implication behind her words. Nevermind he was wearing his hat that shielded most of his face from the sun's rays.

"Sit down with me," she offered, patting the spot next to her. "If you don't have anything better to do, that is."

Soul seemed to think it over a bit. "You really don't mind?"

"No."

"Alright," he shrugged. He hesitated briefly. The toe of his boot rocked back and forth as he debated whether to take her invitation before he finally plopped down beside her.

They sat there in silence. Maka smiled at Soul who seemed to be nervous as a single drop of sweat slid down his face and flushed cheeks. She laid down on the ground and stared up at the sky. Lacing her fingers over her stomach, she crossed her feet and relished in the moment. It was relaxing to be out there. With Soul. All the noises of the ranch came together to create a serene setting; a relaxing warmth buzzed on her skin as she sensed Soul when he laid down on the ground too.

It was nice.

"See, it's nice, isn't it?" she asked.

He pursed his lips as if he wasn't enjoying himself, but Maka saw passed it. His eyes had a certain gleam in them that told her he actually was. Even his expression gave himself away. While he tried to play off the nonchalant act, the edge of his mouth tucked up into a small smile.

"I guess it is. If you like bein' out here like this."

"Don't lie to yourself, Soul." She playfully hit him on the side. "I know you're enjoying yourself."

Snorting, he said, "Don't lie to yourself. I'd rather be inside."

"Then why don't you?" she challenged. He didn't say anything; only pouted harder which made her giggle. "Exactly. You like it."

"Do not."

"If you really didn't you wouldn't have stayed out here," she singsonged.

"Whatever," he huffed which only made her giggle again.

A moment of silence fell between them before she broke it.

"Hey, Soul?" He hummed for her to continue. "I hope this isn't rude, but why do you try to hide your accent in front of the cameras?"

"Guess I'm too worried 'bout what others'll think of me," he supplied.

She turned to look at him. "You didn't seem that way when we first met."

Soft, unguarded carmine eyes turned to her. "Not everything is what it seems on the surface, Maka."

Maka didn't say anything else as she went back to staring at the sky. She felt Soul's own gaze burn into the side of her face for a minute before it was gone.

They stayed out there until the sun casted orange and red hues and made the clouds an eerie blue like rain clouds. Soul's phone buzzed which surprised Maka; she hadn't expected him to still have it since The Bachelor people had taken hers and the other girls' away. She voiced her irritation as well while he read the text on the screen. His only response was that it probably had to do with him being cooler than her which she responded with a light punch to his side.

After he read the text, he told her it was time for them to go and helped her up off the ground before leading the way back to the front of the property. She asked him questions about what the text said and where he was taking her, but he refused to answer her. The only thing he told her was that he was taking her on a proper date - as if the others they had been on hadn't been. Soul really did like to keep things a mystery; even if he failed at doing so about 90% of the time.

* * *

He led her to the back of the barn where a sleek black motorcycle sat with two helmets waiting on the seat. Maka stopped a few feet away while Soul kept walking.

"Where's your truck?" She was confused as to why he had chosen this as their vehicle.

"It's, uh… It's being used by someone else," he offered. He dug in the side pouch, pulled out a leather jacket, and handed it to her. "Here. You might need this for the ride."

She took it, but tucked it in her arms rather than putting it on. Standing there, she watched as he placed his cowboy hat into the pouch, placed one of the helmets on his head, and mounted the bike. "Do you know how to drive this?"

The helmet buckle clicked under his chin. "Uh, yea? If I didn't, we'd be going in somethin' else."

"Where does a cowboy learn how to ride a bike?"

"Not everything-"

"I know," she cut in. "Not everything's surface deep, but you're asking me to get on a motorcycle. They aren't the safest of vehicles when it comes to getting in accidents. So before I risk my life, I wanna know how you learned to drive it."

Soul sighed, but nodded. He rubbed his hands over the handles of the bike before answering her. "Uh, I had a phase."

"A phase?" she asked a little incredulous.

"It was a short lived phase, but Wes likes to tell the story at holiday dinners so you'll probably hear it if you stick 'round long enough."

Her thumb scratched along the lining of the jacket. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't the least bit curious about his phase, and made a mental note to ask Wes later on.

"I'll take it," she said. She slipped the jacket on which was noticeably a few sizes too big for her, grabbed the spare helmet, and slid on the bike behind him. "But I'm definitely asking your brother about this phase of yours."

He chuckled as he stuck the keys into the designated hole. Maka wrapped her arms around his middle, scooting herself closer to him. She thought she heard him suck in a breathe, but wasn't positive as the bike roared to life.

"It's not all that interesting." His voice was thick and heavy before he cleared it. "The bike was orange."

"Really?"

"Yea. Really gaudy orange too. Thought it was cool." He chuckled to himself again. "Even had tassels on the handles."

"How old were you?"

"Twelve."

"Twelve? And your parents let you drive a bike?"

"No," he laughed. "I was eighteen, don't worry."

"Oh, so ten years ago. That makes a difference. Now I'm definitely asking Wes."

He made a noise that sounded like something between a groan and a laugh. "Feel like I'm gonna regret tellin' you that."

"You will," she said with no hesitation and a smile. There was a brief moment of silence between them in which she wondered why they hadn't gone yet. "Are we going yet or not?"

"We're goin'. In a minute. Waitin' for a text first from Wes."

She looked over his shoulder to see his phone resting in the space between his legs. "What's he supposed to text you?"

The answer to her question came in the form of his phone lighting up with a text from his brother. Everything good on my end, yours? it read. Soul swiped to unlock it and sent a quick response to his brother. She pressed her mouth against his shoulder blade, hiding a little pout and giving them their privacy. Even though she was curious, she didn't want to be snooping in his business.

"You're lucky you still have contact with the outside world," she mumbled. "I miss my phone."

"Don't worry, Taylor Swift hasn't put out a new CD."

A small scoff sound came from the back of her throat and he laughed at the same time. "I wasn't worried 'bout that, thank you." She lowered her head further down his back and into the jacket as he prepped the bike to get going. "Besides, I already have her next one pre-ordered."

That made him laugh harder. She wanted to be mad and swat him for laughing, but she smiled instead.

* * *

They reached their destination in little to no time. If someone asked about the drive, Maka was more than positive she wouldn't be able to recall a thing, though. She had spent most of her time with her face buried in Soul's jacket. The wind had been harsh as it blew around them. Riding on bikes seemed romantic in movies, but were awful when put into practice. A part of her wished that they had taken his truck or any other form of transportation, but another part of her was happy they hadn't.

It gave her an excuse to be close to him.

Her heart was still pounding against her chest when her feet touched the ground. She unbuckled the helmet and handed the headgear to Soul who stuffed it back in the side pouch. While he took his hat out and put it on, Maka stared curiously at where he had taken her.

It was a large, old barn but was different than the ones on the Evans' ranch. There were two large openings on the side that revealed people dancing and drinking inside. Twinkling lights flashed around in time with the music that boomed out into the night, and a faint tobacco smell wafted over to her as someone smoked a cigarette. She scoured the place for the source to see a group of people laughing and talking outside.

"Did you bring me out dancing?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.

The light from the barn behind her cast weird shadows on his face making him look more handsome than normal. Butterflies fluttered around her stomach at the thought, and she tried to bat it away as quickly as it came. Just because she agreed to give love a chance didn't mean she was going to be some silly school girl. They hadn't even known each other for that long. Five weeks wasn't long enough.

"It's different than what you're used to, but yea. Pretty much," he shrugged.

"What do you mean different than what I'm used to?"

"It's an old barn."

"Well, thanks for that clarification, Captain Obvious."

He smiled. "Don't gotta be sarcastic. Was just-"

"I can see it's a barn, Soul. I'm not blind."

"Point taken. But do you know what kinda club it is?" he asked, putting finger quotes around the word 'club'.

Gazing over the property, she saw people were dressed similar to them: in cowboy hats, boots, and plaid shirts. The music emitting from inside sounded indistinguishable from the very few country songs she had heard throughout her lifetime. What tipped her off wasn't the barn aspect of the place, but the rowdy cowboys leaving the place who whistled as they passed by her and Soul. She glared at them as they walked away and noticed Soul was doing the same thing as her.

"A country club?"

"Most people 'round here prefer to call it dance hall, but yea."

"Soul, I don't…," she trailed off, unsure of how to tell him that the last time she went dancing was when she was six. It was one of the yearly father/daughter dances her city put on, and the only time she danced after that it was mostly to techno music.

"You don't what?"

She twiddled her thumbs in front of her as she tried to find the right words that didn't hurt him in the end. It was really sweet that he wanted to take her dancing, and it wasn't his fault that she wasn't a fan of it. Mostly because she didn't dance. Which he had no way of knowing beforehand. The only dancing she knew was standing on her papa's toes while he moved them around and unrhythmically moving her body in time to Deadmau5.

Licking her lips, she said, "Soul, I don't know how to dance to this kinda music. Or anything besides club music really."

"I'll teach you."

"I thought you didn't like country music."

"I don't like the music, but I know how to dance to it."

"I'll step on your toes, though."

He quickly glanced down at her feet, snorted, and then back up. "You have tiny feet. I've been stepped on by worse." Soul started to walk toward the barn, grabbing her elbow as he did so. "Come on. It'll be fine."

"Wait, the cameras! We can't do anything without them!" she tried to stall.

Soul smirked at her. "They aren't coming."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Wes took care of it. It's just the two of us tonight. No cameras."

"Wait." She wiggled her arm out of his grasp. "Is that why he text you? And why we took your bike?"

Stopping, Soul bashfully rubbed beneath his nose as he looked at her. "Uh, you can say that's the reason."

"Did you plan this?"

"Uuuhhh," he droned out. That was all she needed, though.

"Marie's gonna be so pissed off!"

"Eh," he shrugged, "so what? Won't be the first time."

"You're horrible."

"Do you wanna talk about the ethics of being here without the cameras? Or go dancing?"

"As long as you teach me and don't mind me stepping on your toes, then the second option."

He laced their fingers together and smiled. "I like that choice."

Soul led her to the entrance of the club, paid for them both, and walked over to an empty table. A stale scent of woodcarvings and sweat wafted in the air, but the general atmosphere was lively. Music blared out of the speakers, but it wasn't eardrum bursting loud. Rather more pleasing to fit the country music that was playing. Lights lit up the hall in a variety of colors from pink, blue, green, and yellow as people danced around the middle.

The dance floor itself was large and full of patrons. All of them were of various ages and doing different dance moves. There were more couples than anything as they twirled and swung around in ways Maka didn't think her body was capable of. A few girls were at the bar in similar outfits as herself while they flirted with cowboys. It was definitely not as crowded and nasty feeling like the clubs she had been to in the past.

"So this is what you guys do for fun out here?" she asked as she shrugged off Soul's jacket and laid it on the table. She adjusted her shirt and realized how many clothes she had on that weren't her own.

"Eh, some of us."

"Let me guess, you don't? Because country music isn't cool?" she teased.

"No, but close. Not a fan of picking up college girls for a one night stand. That's more of Wes' scene… Though he ain't too picky with which sex he gets."

Maka looked back at the bar where the girls were being too touchy with the guys they were chatting with. She now saw the hungry gleam in the men's eyes as they stared the girls up and down. It was the one she had seen her papa use when he was out picking up his conquest for the night. Her nose scrunched up in disgust as she watched them, a sickeningly feeling churned in her stomach, and she was ready to walk out of there.

Lucky for her, she wasn't with any of those cowboys.

"Thought cowboys were gentlemen, not pervs," she mumbled.

"Only to people we're interested in for the long term," Soul whispered behind her. She flinched in surprise at not having noticed him there. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

"No, you're fine. But that's good to know," she smiled. "About the cowboys being gentlemen thing."

He returned her smile and offered his hand. "Ready to learn to dance to the atrocious music you like?"

She slid her hand in his without a second thought and glared at him. "It's only Taylor Swift that I like. I've never listened to anything else in the country genre."

"Same thing."

"No, it's not."

"They're both horrible."

"You're the one who brought me to a country dance hall, though."

Soul opened his mouth to say something, but then promptly closed it and sighed. "Lemme jus' teach you to dance," he said before dragging her out to the dance floor.

Under her breath, Maka muttered, "And apparently you know how to dance to it as well."

They found a small corner of the dance floor for him to teach her. Her heart leapt to her throat when he placed his left hand on her lower back while her own instinctively wrapped around his neck. Sparks of electricity shot up her arm as he laced their fingers together. She forgot how to breath for a moment when he pulled her close. Maka tried to push the feelings away as she stared up at him, though. They were things she didn't need.

But they refused to go away.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Alright. Good." He paused to lick his lips. "Dancin' is real easy. All it is is movin' two steps to the left and two steps right and repeat. We won't do any spins until you're ready. Think you can do that much?"

"Not really, but I'll try," she smiled.

"It's easy. Don't worry," he smiled. "I'll lead."

He took one step back. Maka followed.

After two steps away from their corner, her eyes shot down to look at her feet, but his finger tapping her hand caused her to glance back up at him. It was intimidating staring at him like that and being so close. But at the same time there was something intimate and sweet about it. A warm, gooey feeling filled her middle as he led her around the dance floor and she counted the steps in her head. One, two, one, two. Soul was a good teacher, she decided at that moment before she stepped on his foot and cringed at her own stupidity.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Didn't feel a thing. Jus' follow me, and you'll be fine."

She swallowed and nodded while he lowly counted her steps for her and spinned them around so that he was still in the lead. The music of the club vibrated through her, and she felt a burning sensation crawl along her skin that she didn't think was because of being in public place. Her tongue flicked out to lick her lips as she kept in time with him. Mind racing, she tried to think of normal things that had nothing to do with Soul.

Kittens. Puppies. Rainbows. Fluffy white hair.

Her hand twitched as she felt the nape of his hair tickle her. She had the urge to run her hand through his hair and tug on the white strands, but thought better of it. They really hadn't known each other for that long. It was too soon. For all she knew he didn't want anything to do with her, and only kept her on the show because he was waiting to eliminate her. Even as she told herself that, though, she knew it wasn't true. The circumstances weren't normal, but something about him and the way he acted around her was.

Something told her that making the decision to open her heart to him had been made long before she had done so.

"Alright, ladies and gents," the DJ said into the microphone. "Line up because it's time for some good ol' line dancin'."

"What does he mean?" Maka panickedly asked Soul.

He grinned down at her. "Looks like you getta learn 'bout line dancin'."

"Wait, but I don't - Soul!"

Not bothering to hear her out, Soul led her to the opposite side of the dance hall where there was an empty spot and placed her beside him. "Don't worry. It's not that hard. Just follow me."

"But what am I-?"

Soul didn't wait to hear her, though. Hooking his thumbs in his front pockets, he worriedly looked at her before dancing in the same fashion as the other patrons. He stepped back twice on the right leg, did the same on the left, then repeated it going forward, kicked one boot in front of him, kicked the other, and turned so that he was facing her. She knew he was trying to share a part of his life with her, but he looked so different line dancing. The Soul she knew didn't seem to be the type of person who knew how to do these kind of things - at all.

But not everything was what it seemed on the surface.

The thought didn't prevent her from bursting into a fit of giggles.

"Come on, Maka. Don't laugh."

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry. But." She sighed. "Soul, I never took you to be this kinda person! You look so silly doing this!"

"Well, if you did it with me, I wouldn't."

"I'm not - what are you doing?"

He walked behind her, placed his hands on her hips, and started guiding her in time with the music.

"I'm not doin' this on my own. If I make a fool of myself, you're join' me."

It felt weird having him move her body for her, but she also quite enjoyed it. Even if she knew she looked ridiculous and couldn't help but to laugh at herself more than him. She heard him start to chuckle to himself as well as he rested his forehead on her shoulder for a moment. A scorch mark burned her skin where his face had been when he moved away.

"Soul," she breathed out before giggling again. She placed her hands on his to pull them off her, but she was having too much fun to do so. A few of the people at the bar were staring and pointing at them as they whispered things to their friends. "Soul, we look so ridiculous. You know that, right? People are actually talking about us."

"Let 'em," he whispered in her ear. He rested his chin on her shoulder as he continued dancing close to her and started singing the lyrics of the song in the worst southern accent she had ever heard. "Heel, toe, docie doe come on baby let's go boot scootin."

"Oh my god, Soul!" she laughed. His own laughter rumbled against her back as he pressed himself closer to her.

"Cadillac black jack," he continued, "baby meet me outback we're gonna boogie. Get down, turn around go to town boot scootin' boogie." He took her hand and spinned her around on the part of the song that said so, and pressed her against his chest as she continued to laugh. "You had fun, though, right?"

"That was a first for me," she admitted, but it shouldn't have surprised him. "I can't believe that's an actual song!"

"Better than Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy."

She waited for him to say 'I'm kidding'. When it never came, she laughed again. "You're not serious. That can't be an actual song."

"Alright, ladies!" the DJ yelled into the mic once again as another song began. "This one's for y'all. Remember: when in doubt, save a horse and ride a cowboy!" There was a female chorus of the last few words as almost every woman in the bar screamed it out that caused Maka's cheeks to burn.

"Oh, I didn't think you were serious," she said into Soul's shirt. Glancing up at him, she asked, "Can we go outside for a while? Until this song is over?"

"Yea," he laughed before twining his fingers with hers and leading them outside.

Maka deeply inhaled the fresh air before sighing and stretching her arms out. Stars twinkled in the dark sky as the moon shone down on them, and a small smile tugged on her mouth. Crickets duly chirped in the distance as a lazy cow mooed. The sounds of the patrons inside wafted out to meet them as a few others talked amongst themselves some distance away. She felt herself falling harder in love with the country lifestyle that Soul was slowly showing her, and she wanted nothing more than to take it home with her.

"I haven't seen this many stars in years," she whispered. "Not since before I moved out to New York City. Too many lights."

"Mm, yea. That's one bad thing 'bout the city."

"I'd give anything to see this every night. It's so beautiful."

"Yea."

They stood in silence for a few seconds. Maka glanced over at him to see that he was staring at her with a dreamy look in his gaze. She immediately became a little self-conscious as she touched her hair and worried there was something wrong with her appearance.

"Is there something on me?" she asked.

The dreamy look vanished as he shook his head. "No. Why?"

"Then why were you staring at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like I had something on me."

"That's not why I was starin' at you."

"Then why were you?" she pried, curiosity getting the best of her. "You don't just stare at someone for no reason."

"Dunno," he shrugged. "Didn't know I was starin' at you. Sorry."

She shyly smiled, feeling stupid for being so accusatory. "No, it's okay. I'm sorry for getting upset about it." After a while, she added, "Thanks for bringing me here, by the way. I've had a lot of fun learning how to dance. Including the whole line dancing thing."

The side of his mouth pulled up into a half-smile as he stuffed his hands in pockets. "Glad you liked it. Was kinda worried you wouldn't."

"Now I guess I'm a real cowgirl," she grinned. "Got the boots and the outfit already, and now I know how to dance like one."

"That doesn't make you a cowgirl," he laughed. His gaze dropped before he removed his hat, grabbing it from the edges, and stepped forward to place it on top of her head. She blinked as he adjusted it on her.

"What are you doing?"

"There," he said when he finished. "Now you're a real cowgirl. You were missing the hat."

"Thanks," she smiled.

A flutter of warmth danced across her chest while her cheeks burned at the sweetness of his words. Inside the dancehall, the song slowly faded as another one played, and she needed a distraction that didn't involve her spending more time outside with Soul. She didn't know what she would do if he was kind to her again.

"You ready to go back inside?"

"Yea. Still gotta dance with you some more."

Soul laced their fingers together as they walked back inside. Not even a foot inside the hall, she automatically recognized the song that was playing. It was a slow song by Taylor Swift from the Hannah Montana movie that she used to be a fan of. A love ballad, to be more precise. Which meant there were more couples on the dance floor who were all dancing close to each other wrapped up in their significant other's arms. Standing on the sidelines, it felt intimate and private.

Too intimate and private for her and Soul to dance beside them.

"We can sit down or get a drink and wait until the next one," she offered.

"Or we can dance to it," he offered. "I know how much you love Taylor Swift."

"But it's a slow song, Soul. I don't think we're meant to dance to it."

"Why not?" he shrugged. "I thought the whole purpose of this show was to do couple things."

She opened her mouth to counter his remark, but she realized she had nothing to say. "Mama always did say it was rude to decline a dance from a gentleman."

Maka followed him down to the dance floor. He placed his arm around her waist and rested his hand on her lower back while the other one held her hand. She rested her cheek on his chest as they slowly began to sway in time with the song; she heard the steady beating of his heart against her ear. Her body relaxed as a familiar scent invaded her senses. A scent she recognized as the one that had been on the plaid shirt he had given her. Closing her eyes, she felt herself let down her wall a little more.

* * *

When they arrived back at the ranch, Marie was definitely not happy about being tricked.

The producer was waiting for them at the front door of the main house and stormed up to them before Soul had the chance to park. She was shouting into the night as they both slid off the bike, and continued doing so when they stuffed their helmets into the side pouch. Every word Marie yelled went in one ear and out the other. Maka knew it was coming; she had even imagined the scenario on the drive back. Though, having it play out in person was so much better.

"And you left me without any footage for the two of you this week!" Marie shouted, pointing to Soul as she did so.

Soul had his usual 'I don't care' expression. Eyes droopy and unfocused; facial muscles relaxed. Maka had to fight back a smile to prevent herself from getting on the receiving end of Marie's anger.

"I can't believe you pulled a stunt like that! Bribing your brother to work as your accomplice, having my people go off on a wild goose chase down back roads, only to have it end up that you took Maka off by yourself." She paused to rub her temples. "This is not what my show is about."

"You could always have us go on another date," Maka offered.

Marie waved her hand as if dismissing the idea. "It's too late. The rose ceremony is soon. Your date with him was supposed to be the last one we shot, and now it's ruined. My show is ruined," she cried. "All because of some stupid cowboy!"

Maka's hand pressed against Soul's chest as he made to step forward at Marie's comment, and took his place instead. It wasn't worth it to start drama over nothing.

"Well, you know one of your camera guy's did film us over at the chicken coop?" Maka said, ignoring the wince from Soul as he remembered the murderous chicken incident. "Maybe you can use that?"

The producer's hand dropped from her forehead and she blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"I was feeding the chickens earlier and one of the techs was filming me when Soul came over. I think there might be some footage in there?"

Pulling out a notebook from her pocket, Marie scribbled down something inside. "And what did the camera guy look like?"

"Pink-ish hair, short, scrawny-"

"Oh, Crona. I'll ask them to see the footage tonight, and hopefully we can salvage something to give America once this episode comes out," Marie cut in. She closed her notebook with a snap and glared at Soul. "But if you pull another stunt like that, mister, I will not hesitate to wring your behind! You are not going to single handedly ruin my show by running off on some secret rendezvous!"

Maka glanced at Soul who still held his nonchalant expression. Though he tried to seem like he didn't care, she noticed the way he was sucking in his lips far too hard to be normal. She didn't blame him. Marie was a scary woman when she was angry. There was a fire in her hazel eyes that spelled out death to anyone who crossed her. They were probably lucky she needed Soul to do her show or else the show would be renamed to 'Death of a Bachelor'.

"Yes, ma'am," Soul muttered. "Won't happen again."

"Good. Now off to bed. Both of you," Marie huffed, her anger seeming to subside. "We have a big day of filming tomorrow, and I want you both to be well-rested."

She walked away from them and toward one of the trailers that they had camped out on the property, a large The Bachelor logo on the side.

Once she was away, Maka turned and smiled at Soul, seeing the blinking red light of a camera some distance away as she did so. She hadn't been aware that their exchange a few moments ago was being filmed as well. The show really did film everything.

Unless naughty cowboys went under the producer's nose and prevented them from doing so, of course.

"That was fun," she said.

"If you think getting chewed out by Marie in front of a camera is fun, then sure. Guess it was."

Oh, so he at least knew about the camera.

"No, I meant the dancehall. I had fun there."

"Ah, right." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"And Marie getting angry was a little fun as well," she smiled.

"Maybe a little," he smiled back.

They stood there in silence. Maka rocked back and forth on her feet as she was unsure of what to do. Soul scratched the hair beneath his hat. In the dim lighting, she swore his cheeks were flushed, but wasn't completely sure either. She excused it as being hit by the wind on his bike or the aftermath of his embarrassment from being yelled at on camera.

"I'll see you later, then?" she finally said.

"Yea, later."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Before she knew it, her lips pressed themselves against his cheek momentarily. She fell back on her heels and blinked in surprise, unsure of why she had done that. They both blinked at each other. Her mouth dropped as excuses flourished in her mind, but each was worse than the last.

"That was for tonight," she quickly covered up before walking toward the guest house.

Maka didn't bother to give Soul one last glance before entering the house. She went straight to her assigned bedroom and got ready for bed, wanting nothing more than to pretend that what had happened didn't. But try as she might, her mind had other intrusive thoughts about the cowboy and a gooey warmth filled her entire body.

* * *

Later that week at the rose ceremony, Maka avoided all eye contact with Soul as she conveniently stood in front of him yet again. One by one he called off the names of the girls, and all during that time, she felt his gaze stay on her. She already knew he was saving her name for last. What made that ceremony any different from the others? There was no doubt in her mind that he wasn't going to call her, but what worried her the most was what he thought of the cheek kiss incident.

His no kissing rule had been broken. On camera, too.

She was woken out of her daze by the sound of Soul calling her name. Her eyes snapped up to meet his, and he smiled causing her heart to stop beating for a moment.

Taking a deep breath, she walked forward and took the rose from him - answering the same question he asked all the girls. He kept eye contact with her and held onto the flower longer than normal. It took Maka several seconds to notice his thumb gently caressing her hand. When he let go, her skin felt like he had branded her with a hot skillet. Butterflies fluttered around in her stomach as she stood by the other girls and waited to say goodbye to the one who was going home that night.

As she was hugging Jenna, her mind and gaze were focused on Soul who stared at her showing no emotion whatsoever.


	6. Evelyn Evans & Fireside Chats

A/N: I apologize for the very long wait, but this chapter was one of the harder ones for me to edit due to wearing myself out. But it's finally here. I promise the next chapter won't take as long to post. Thank you everyone for your patience and kind words for this fic! It really means a lot me. I hope y'all enjoy this much anticipated chapter :)

* * *

The red light mockingly blinked at her as she stared into the lens of the camera.

Three days had passed since she kissed Soul on the cheek, two since the rose ceremony, and it felt as if they were both avoiding each other. When she attempted casual conversation, he made up an excuse as to why he couldn't. He walked her, and she averted her gaze to his feet. It felt like they were in an endless game of tag except there were no winners, and it angered her.

To make matters worse was that it coincided with the cheek kiss.

Sighing, Maka ran a single, frustrated hand through her loose hair before speaking. The only reason she was in the confession room was because she needed a way to sort through her thoughts. Even if the editors were bound to manipulate it to their pleasing.

"Soul's been acting like such a child lately," she started. Her brows wrinkled in the middle as concentration took over. "One minute he's rubbing my hand all sweetly — I don't understand the reason for — and the next he's acting as if I saw his My Little Pony collection. It doesn't make sense. I shouldn't be getting so worked up about this, yet, here I am. Sitting in front of a stupid camera."

She pursed her lips and buried her hands between her knees. A faint heat slowly blossomed over her cheeks as her gaze skittered away from the camera.

"I know Liz will more than likely talk my ear off about me being silly like this, but I really can't help it." Her voice lowered as she continued. "I just want to know how he felt about the kiss. I know he didn't want to kiss anyone on the show — he had said so on the first night here — and I need to know if I did wrong."

It was true.

Ever since the incident happened, her mind had spent the better part of the last couple days fretting over it. Thoughts of her ruining her chances of being on the show continuously ran through her mind. Ideas that maybe Soul avoiding her were because he was emotionally manipulating her tormented her every waking moment. She knew The Bachelor. They had a way of exploiting the show and dragging girls until the end who were _in love_ with the bachelor, and she had an inkling the same was happening to her.

Of course her emotions toward Soul weren't entirely clear, either. They had only known each other for _six weeks_. Six weeks wasn't enough time for _anyone_ to fall in love with someone else. Maybe puppy love, but not _true love_. Maka didn't even know what true love was! She had spent her early years believing she did through her parents' relationship, but then her papa screwed things up because he couldn't keep it in his pants. In her book, that wasn't love. If anything, it was mediocre, self-indulgence to be with someone — to believe another person dealt with you enough to promise their life to you.

How was someone who had been exposed to _that_ expected to fall in love with someone?

How was someone who had spent most of her life being cynical and bitter about the idea of _love_ expected to experience it herself?

Then, there was that slight tug that pulled Maka toward Soul.

It was the driving force that caused her to want to find out more about him, his family, and his entire lifestyle. She didn't know what to make of it, but the idea of being part of his family filled her with a tender happiness that warmed her icy heart. An emotion she hadn't felt before. Which confused everything that she knew and lived by, and was one of the reasons why she needed to know how he felt. About her, the kiss, and the ethics of the show itself.

Funny how one kiss turned everything upside down.

Sighing, Maka leaned forward and turned the camera off.

* * *

Maka lay on top her designated bed staring at the ceiling as the fan's blades lazily rotated. The activity was meant to be relaxing, but it wasn't when her thoughts kept crashing into each other. Not even the most mundane activity could calm her restless mind. There was no doubt in her that Marie and her people were going to cut and splice the incident into a romantic plot line for their show, only to rip out from under the viewers at the last second. That was the whole point of the show: to being _true love_ to a ready audience.

Being exploited in that way for all of America wasn't ideal.

She knew beforehand that coming on the show, the crew were destined to do so with the footage, but Maka hadn't expected to be part of it. In all honesty, she didn't expect herself to get this far. Soul should have sent her home after she tossed wine at him. Of course there was always the option of leaving on her own, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. Plus, there was the fact that Liz would be furious if she ditched the place without actually being booted off.

Going the rest of her life with that reminder wasn't ideal either.

The edge of her bed dipped as someone sat down. Maka knew who it was by the aura that filled the room the moment they walked in. She had also seen dark purple hair glistening in the faint sunlight coming from the window.

"Hey Blair," she said toward the ceiling.

"Aww," the older woman whined, "I thought you were asleep."

"Nope. I can assure you, I'm very much awake."

 _And worrying about things I shouldn't._

Shifting her gaze from the ceiling to Blair, Maka asked, "Why'd you come up here?"

"I wanted to nap with you."

There was a sickeningly sweet and innocent timbre in her words that grated on Maka's nerves, but she had become accustomed to it from Blair. The combination of her high-pitched voice and personality suited each other perfectly.

"I don't think our friendship has reached that level yet."

"I nap with all my friends, though. Even those who I haven't known that long," Blair said, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Are those girls or guys?" Maka asked with a mischievous grin.

Blair pouted. "I don't sleep with _every_ guy. I have standards, you know."

"And what do those standards entail?"

Maka sat up completely, tucking her knees toward her chest, and smiling at her friend. She was thankful for the distraction because it gave her a sense of normalcy in the midst of romance drama. It felt as if she were back home with Liz rather than a million miles away from her best friend.

"They have to be hot," Blair said so casually it caused Maka to snort.

"Blair, the world needs more people like you. The fact that you say that so easily is nice."

"Thanks, kitten."

A short pause fell between them before Blair spoke again.

"I gotta be honest, though, that isn't why I came. Marie wanted me to tell you that tomorrow's your day to spend time with Soul's parents."

She winced at the mention of Marie. If there was one person she didn't want to tick off, it was the producer of the show, and her absence for the day definitely counted as one of the reason for Marie to flip her lid.

"Did she ask where I was?" Maka cautiously asked.

"Yep, but I covered for you. Told her you had a little bug and you'll feel better tomorrow."

Thanks for that."

With Marie's anger out of the way, Maka's mind jumped to the second half of Blair's sentence.

"What do you mean _spending time with Soul's parents_? That doesn't usually happen until close to the end."

The older woman shrugged. "Dunno, but it isn't too bad. We're only having brunch with Mama and Papa Evans. Nothing too strenuous, and you'll be the first girl up to take the bull by the horns!"

Her entire body went numb at the declaration that was _meant_ to be comforting when it wasn't.

"Why do you say that like it's a good thing?"

"Because you're Maka. If any of us are gonna woo the parents, it's definitely you. You have that quality in your personality; you're very likable. I'm sure when the show finally airs, you'll be the fan favorite to win."

While being touched by the sentiment, it still didn't raise her sudden feeling of dread. Meeting Soul's parents wasn't soothing in the midst of her worries surrounding the kiss incident. She had been so sure a few hours ago that they were going to be having individual dates with Soul instead and have the opportunity to finally talk to him. With this new information, her chances of doing so were gone.

Unless…

"Will we still get a solo date with Soul?" she asked. Maka hoped her voice sounded curious and not worried, but to her own ears it resembled the latter. She inwardly cringed at herself.

If Blair had noticed, though, she didn't comment. The only hint that maybe she had was the quick lift at the corner of her lips before it disappeared.

"Marie didn't say, but I'm sure we will. It's only week six, so I don't think we're done going on individual dates with him yet." Blair leaned forward to squeeze Maka's arm. A sly smile spread across her face as she did so that caused Maka's stomach to clench uncomfortably. "Don't worry. You'll get more chances to talk to him than you ever imagined."

Maka's brows furrowed at the knowing tone that etched Blair's voice. Alarms rang in her head that the woman knew more than she let on, and her tongue tingled with the desire to interrogate her friend. Before she could, though, Blair spoke again.

"Meredith meets his parents after you. I'm sure they'll both be begging to have you back after her," Blair grinned evilly.

"Be nice. Meredith isn't that bad," Maka chided.

"Yeah. When she's around people she's trying to impress."

"You have to admit, though, she's gotten a little nicer in the last couple weeks."

Blair pursed out her lips and made a noise of disapproval. "If you wanna believe that fake act of hers, go ahead. But I'm gonna tell you right now," she waggled her finger at Maka like a disapproving parent that reflected her tone, "don't trust Meredith no matter what. Promise!"

She didn't know what to make of Blair's sudden parental attitude, but she nodded nonetheless.

To be honest, Meredith really wasn't that bad. She had a few moments where she said mean things, yes, but Maka had an inkling it was all for the show. That was common even in past seasons of The Bachelor. Being on camera and having the chance at fame always brought out the high school bitch in the contestants; that was how The Bachelor banked on views and money. Maka always had a theory that who the were on TV wasn't the real them when the cameras turned off.

Her theory either proved true or not during the Final Rose episode.

"When do you meet with Soul's parents?" Maka asked, diverting the conversation away from Meredith and mean girls.

"I'm the last girl. So you better not woo them too much." Blair playfully glared at Maka that made her giggle.

"I'll try not to."

"Good. Now come on and get outta bed. You've been in here all day, and I'm positive you haven't had a single thing to eat."

"I had some toast this morning," Maka defended.

"That's a healthy meal!" Blair slid off the side and dragged Maka out with her in one graceful swoop. She tsk tsked at Maka's choice of outfit. "Gotta get you out them PJs first, though! Don't want everyone to know you wear shorts with Thumper on them."

Maka squeaked and clenched her legs together, her hand flying over the garment in question at a failed attempt to cover them up. "They were a gift from my mama!"

"And they look cute on you, but it isn't proper for a 20-something year old to still be wearing Disney things at her age. Get into some proper clothes, and then come downstairs to eat a meal created by the great and wonderful Blair!"

The woman, who was much older than Maka herself, twirled around on the spot and headed out the door. "No more moping around about some stupid boy and things you can't change."

Blinking, Maka watched Blair disappear beyond the doorway. She didn't know for sure if she had heard the woman correctly or if her overworked mind was playing tricks on her and jumping to conclusions. She didn't know if her friend knew the reason she had stayed cooped up in the main house all day or not. Maka definitely didn't tell her. The only way Blair would know was if Soul had mentioned it since he was the only person there besides the cameraman. Which meant that he would have had to talk to her…

Shaking her head to stop the crazy ideas from forming, Maka walked over to her assigned dresser to pick out some decent clothes to wear. She didn't need any more reason to fret over the issue at hand. A moment was bound to come up soon in which she had a chance to talk to Soul about it.

* * *

Maka stood in the front of the house waiting for someone to appear. One of the helpers off camera had left her there and went to set up for the scene they were going to shoot.

She tugged down on the baby blue sundress, hoping it wasn't too short for Soul's parents taste or too casual for the occasion. Meredith and the other girls had spent the previous night going over their outfit choices, and most of them had similar attire chosen. Dress shorts and a colorful mix of chiffon and peplum tops were scattered around the guest house as they each ooed and ahhed over them. The only thing Maka had that came close to the ensembles were jean shorts and a few cotton shirts she bought at Target.

Like it mattered, though. Maka had already left her impression on Evelyn with the horse droppings incident. Everyone knew it was the mother that mattered during these things. Dads were easy to win over if the woman was pretty enough.

What did wouldn't want his son to marry a trophy wife?

"Maka, how are you?" Evelyn said appearing from a hallway followed by a camera and sound guy. "It's been so long."

Upon seeing the older woman, a wave of calm washed away her worries about dress. Evelyn's attire was more toned down and casual than she had expected.

Soul's mother rolled the sleeves of her rose plaid shirt as she walked toward Maka, her chocolate vest fluttering in the wind. Maka squeaked in surprise at the warm, tight hug Evelyn gave her before returning the gesture a few seconds later. It was the kind mothers gave their children when they were little and scraped their knees on the playground to assure them everything was going to be alright. If Maka didn't know any better, she wouldn't have been surprised if Evelyn pushed back her bangs and kissed her forehead. She seemed to be that kind of mother.

Her heart swelled at the sincerity behind the thought and how welcomed she felt on the Evans' ranch.

"I'm good," Maka forced out, trying to keep her voice under control. "How are you?"

Evelyn released her and took a step back. She smiled up at Maka, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she did so.

Unlike her son, Evelyn's own gaze was bright and full of life as they sparkled with different tones of brown rather than guarded and dull. They reminded Maka of the seeds that rested in the middle of the sunflowers that grew on the property. She didn't have a doubt in her mind that Evelyn was the one who had planted them. It felt like a thing she would do, and matched her personality perfectly, Maka determined based on the warm welcome. Sunshine yellow for bright and cheery; earth brown for home and comfort.

"Wonderful. I was ecstatic when Marie told me it was you I'd be meetin' with today. Come on. Let's go get start this thing."

Waving for Maka to follow, they headed back into the room Evelyn had emerged from.

White curtains veiled the windows of the room, allowing faint sunlight to stream in and give it a bright, happy tone. The walls were painted a robin's egg blue causing Maka to be blind for a few seconds from the vibrancy of everything combined. A few seconds passed before her eyes finally adjusted. In the middle of the room, sat a small glass table that sat two people total with a cupcake stand in the middle adorned with different kinds of sweets. Two cups sat on the either side in front of the chairs. From the distance she stood, Maka made out hand-painted florals on the sides of the teacups that matched a pot situated in the middle.

It was cute, but seemed overly compensating that didn't fit the Evans at all.

"This is fancy," Maka commented.

"Thanks, sweetie. I'll be sure to tell Marie you said that. Was her who did all this." Evelyn waved her hands around as if she were showing off a piece in the museum. "None o' this is mine. Would never buy somethin' this fancy intact with Oglesby runnin' 'round. That dog'll knock it down with that darn tail of his."

"Where is Oglesby?"

"Soul an' Wes took him out with 'em to do some work 'round the ranch. Marie didn't want him out while I was talkin' with you girls. 'Fraid of fur gettin' on everything. Typical of those Hollywood folks."

Maka opened her mouth to comment, but was ushered to her seat by one of the handlers of the show. Strong hands shoved her down in one of the chairs causing Maka to roll her shoulders to relieve some of the pain. The same person went to Evelyn to do the exact thing before being stopped from doing so.

"I am fully capable of sittin' myself. Thank you."

Evelyn took her sweet time getting situated. She fluffed up the cushion before sitting down, scooted the chair up then backward a bit, and made a show of setting a napkin down in her lap. The handler coughed into their hand, but stopped when Evelyn shot them an evil glare. Maka's lips tucked up into a small smile at the woman's behavior, finding it comical and reminiscent of her son when he did something for the show that was out of character. Another few minutes passed before Mrs. Evans finally decided enough time had been wasted and smiled.

"Tell me a little 'bout yourself, Maka."

Her smile faltered as she glanced around the room. "What about your husband?"

Taking a sip of her tea, Evelyn dropped her gaze away from Maka's that left an easy feeling in the pit of her gut. She knew that look. It was the same one she had seen on her mother many times before her parents divorce when the questions arose surrounding the fewer family dinners.

"He's held up at work today so he won't be joinin' us," Evelyn said as she set her teacup down, her tone less cheery than before. "Sorry for the inconvenience. I know you girls were told y'all'd be meetin' with the both of us, but trust me, his opinion won't matter much to Soul."

The want to ask Evelyn to elaborate floated to the tip of Maka's tongue, but before she had the chance to do so, the woman spoke again.

"But we're not here to talk 'bout me, are we?" She raised her brows as if to say the topic of her husband was forbidden causing Maka to push the question to the back of her mind.

"Right. Well…"

She trailed off. Her tongue flicked out to wet her lips as she thought about where to start. For such a simple question, it was always such a hard one to answer. Especially with the low hum of a camera rolling beside her, and the movements of the crew reminding her it wasn't only Evelyn she was about to tell her life story to. Everyone in America who watched the show were also going to be hearing it. That thought alone was scary.

Nervously, Maka tugged her skirt down and curled her fingers around the hem of it. She took a deep breath in and let it out as she attempted to drown out the noise from The Bachelor crew and focused on Evelyn.

"I'm originally from Nevada. My parents grew up there so they wanted to raise me there, but I left seven years ago to go to school in New York. Currently I live in the city and work as an elementary teacher."

"Your parents still in Nevada?"

"Papa is," she breathed out. "Mama passed away when I was fifteen."

"Oh," Evelyn whispered. Her eyes grew sympathetic like Maka had seen dozens of times before when she mentioned her mother's passing. "I'm so sorry for your lose, and at such a young age. That must have been tough on you and your daddy."

"More for me than him," Maka admitted. "They had divorced some time before that so Papa didn't exactly miss out on much."

Evelyn sucked in a sharp breath before asking, "Your parents divorced?"

"Mhm. But it happened a long time ago that it doesn't really affect me anymore so it's not a big deal," she added, seeing the concern beginning to form on the older woman's face. "Papa remarried a new woman already, and they seem happy."

"I'm glad to hear that." She took a sip of her tea. "It's no fun bein' attached to someone you're not romantically interested in anymore."

Maka's gaze lifted from sweets in front of her to examine Mrs. Evans' facial expression. The tone she had said her words in rang an alarm in her head that told her they were closer to her heart than she let them on to be. As if Evelyn had first-hand experience dealing with the matter. She didn't get a chance to pry more, though, as the older woman changed the subject in a heartbeat.

"Do you have any siblin's?"

"No, ma'am."

"No need for formalities, dear. I don't mind you callin' me Evelyn." She grabbed one of the sweets off the tray and set it down on her plate. "Guess that's a good thing you ain't got any siblin's. Soul and Wes were a handful on their own. Gettin' themselves in all kinds of trouble that I know was all 'cause o' Wes even though he blamed it on his younger brother. Your parents did good with you. I can tell. Raised a bright woman."

"Thank you."

Taking a bite of her sweet, Evelyn covered her mouth. "Have you met Soul's older brother, Wes, yet?"

"No," Maka said, shaking her head slightly. "He was out there a couple weeks ago when we went horseback riding, but I didn't get a chance to talk to him let alone introduce myself. I've met Blake, though. He helped show us how to clean stalls for a challenge."

"Ah. _Blake_." She said his name similar to a teacher when discussing the troublemaker in her class, but with an undertone of endearment. "He's practically family considerin' how long he's been workin' here, but he's jus' our farm hand. Helps Soul an' Wes 'round the ranch. I'd probably lose my marbles if he were my third child with the amount of times he's played practical jokes 'round here."

"I take it he isn't like Soul?"

Evelyn let out a little laugh.

"Soul may seem like the quiet type, but he is anythin' except that. Get Blake to provoke that boy to pull some trick on the ranch, and Soul will be right there along with him. Those two are the worse than anythin'. Then get Wes into their prank war, and, honey, you better hold onto your britches 'cause they could jus' disappear like that."

She snapped her fingers to emphasize her point.

"The only well behaved boy on this ranch is Kilik. Our other hand who's been behind the scenes so I don't think any o' y'all girls have met him."

A tiny hint of glee and amusement danced behind Evelyn's eyes as she stared at a post behind Maka. "But I wouldn't change it for a thing in the world. They definitely keep this ol' ranch lively an' me feelin' young."

"It sounds like you have a nice little family here."

"Yes, we do. Family's important 'round here. You don't gotta be blood to be apart of either," Evelyn said with a sly smile. She took a sip of her tea before continuing. "I'm supposed to ask this to every girl, so don't think I'm singlin' you out. You've known Soul for a while now, so tell me, what do you like most about him."

The softness in her eyes disappeared when she asked the question.

Maka self-consciously scooted down in her seat as a weird feeling filled gut. It felt as if her answer to the simple question was the determining factor of whether or not Evelyn deemed her worthy of her son. Had the situation been handed to her a few weeks ago, she would have gladly taken the opportunity to accept it. Except things had changed between then and now. She had grown to like Soul more than she had in the beginning. Her feelings were conflicted when it came to him, yes, but the idea of opening herself up to love enticed her more now than anything.

Her answer mattered to her more than she originally expected it to.

Sitting up straighter in her chair, Maka smiled and said, "Well, after you get passed his hard exterior, he's definitely not such the tough guy he makes himself out to be. There has been more than one time he's let his guard down and shown who he truly is on the inside. He's kind and has a good heart. I think that's the part of him I like the most."

"Lemme guess, he was a jerk to you?" Evelyn smiled.

"I tossed my wine on him the first night here, if that tells you anything."

"That was you?" Evelyn asked with wide eyes. "Soul came an' told Wes and I 'bout that that night. Said a girl ruined one o' his shirts and had to come change. Don't really blame ya for doin' it. Boy deserved it after the way he treated you an' the others."

Grinning, Maka said, "Thank you. I'm very proud of that moment."

"Boy needs a girl like you. Someone who'll put him in his place."

It took several seconds for Maka to fully process what Evelyn had implied.

When it finally did register, sparks of heat tingled along the nape of her neck, up her throat, until it blossomed across her cheeks. Warmth crawled across her chest at the sentimental undertones of Evelyn's words, and a smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. She didn't know for sure if Soul's mom had meant what she said or only saying it for show. Either way, she found herself flattered and scared. Flattered that Evelyn thought so highly of her already, and scared for the very same reason.

Taking a sip of her own tea didn't help the matter as the lukewarm liquid made its way through her body.

A loud bark from one of the rooms behind them startled Maka out of her thoughts as she came slamming back into reality. She heard the apology of a deep male voice that didn't belong to the familiar, silky one she had come to know before the scratching of nails on hardwood. Time seemed to slow as she turned to see Oglesby rounding the doorway, his black fur completely windblown. One of the crew members yelled for him to stop to no avail. In a matter of seconds, the dog found his way into Maka's lap.

He must have misinterpreted the speed he needed to go in order to reach her because he put his entire body weight on top of her. She let out a small wheezing sound at the impact before patting the dog gently on his head. Around her chaos ensued as the crew members attempted to remove Oglesby from the room while still maintaining some form of professionalism.

"Oglesby," Evelyn sighed without a hint of surprise in her tone. "What are you doin' inside?"

"Sorry, Ma!" came the male voice from before.

Glancing over her shoulder, Maka saw Wes emerge from the hallway. Her heart stopped, though, when a familiar white haired cowboy sulked by behind him - completely ignoring the situation inside the room.

"We finished early so came back in," Wes continued as he entered the room. "Tried to catch him by the collar 'fore he came boltin' in here, but Soul's, uh, goin' through one o' his phases."

"Course he is," was all Evelyn said. "Well, get Olgesby outta here 'fore Marie sees him."

"You're getting mud all over the floors!" came a shrill feminine voice. "And _what_ is that _dog_ doing in here?! I specifically asked for him to be away from the filming area! Now we're going to have to clean this entire place up again."

"Too late," Maka said over Oglesby's head. The dog licked her face after she spoke, and his tail wagged faster than before.

"I apologize, Miss Marie. I'll get him out, and I promise I'll help you clean this room up," Wes said.

Oglesby disappeared from Maka's lap with a small yelp as one of his owners took him away. She shyly smiled up at Wes who winked at her before leading the dog out of the room. Maka blinked behind him, unsure of what to make of the older Evans' behavior.

"I think our time together is over," Evelyn said, drawing Maka's attention back over to her. "It was nice meetin' Maka. Good luck with the competition."

Maka took the hand Mrs. Evans offered her and shook it. "Thank you. It was nice meeting you too."

* * *

After the fiasco, Maka offered to help clean up.

There wasn't much for her to do, though, since Wes came back moments afterward to mop up the mud he had tracked in. She had been tasked with storing away the leftover sweets - which was all of them - and storing them away for the Evelyn's other _interviews_ with the girls, as Marie put it. Maka carefully carried the cupcake stand over to the kitchen with one camera stalking her as she made her way to the kitchen. The necessity for them to continue filming wasn't entirely needed in her opinion since nothing interesting ever happened surrounding sweets.

What was going to interest America about that?

She passed by an open doorway and heard the answer to her question.

"Soul, why do you wanna stop the show early?" Marie asked.

Maka halted a few inches away from the doorway. She knew it didn't help any to eavesdrop on their conversation, especially when it came to her worries about the man in question and the cheek kiss. But it couldn't be helped. Her curiosity and need to know kept her firmly planted in place. The cameraman walking behind had stopped as well on the other side of the doorway.

"Because I don't wanna do this anymore," Soul said in his forced normal voice.

"That's not a good reason. We'll only stop the show here and now if you found someone you're certain you want to give the final rose to. If, and only if, that has happened will we stop." Marie paused briefly. "Is there a girl you want to give the final rose to?"

A moment of silence followed her words. Seconds on a clock somewhere pounded against Maka's eardrums as she continued to listen, wanting desperately to know his answer.

"No."

Her back stiffened at the simple answer, and she sucked in a hard breath. She hadn't realized before that moment how important his words meant to her as she felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. Blinking rapidly, she attempted to push the tears that pricked her eyes back inside her. This wasn't who she was; she was stronger than this. His answer meant nothing to her, but even as the thought crossed her mind she knew it was a lie. A small part of her had been holding on to the hope that he did want to be with her and that she hadn't screwed it up with cheek kiss.

But she now knew she had.

"Then I'm sorry, but the show must go on," Marie said.

The footsteps heading her way from the room didn't register in time for her to move. It wasn't until she heard him complaining that her mind finally processed that he was behind her.

"God, another camera?! Don't you people ever-"

Soul cut off mid-sentence when Maka turned around to look at him. Maka's heart stopped briefly before beating faster than before, her breath hitched in her throat, and the familiar warmth that she hated spread along her skin. Red eyes stared down at her, and she hoped - prayed - that hers weren't watery from the want to cry. He didn't say anything, though. Only stood there with slight shock etched around his features before they fell into line with his normal stoic behavior. A few agonizing seconds ticked by before he curtly nodded and walked off.

Shortly after he left, Maka headed back in the direction of the kitchen.

* * *

Maka moved canned goods out of her way, stood on her tiptoes to see the top shelves better, but still couldn't find any ziploc bags. She had been searching for a box for the last fifteen minutes or so. Evelyn had to have had at least one box in the large pantry. Lord knew she had everything else; the entire area was stocked to the brim with non-perishable food that it could feed a small army. Yet, Maka still couldn't find a single box of ziploc bags.

She fell back on her heels and said. Placing her hands on her hips, she glared at everything in there.

"I know they have to be in here somewhere," she muttered to herself.

"Whatcha lookin' for?"

For what felt like the tenth time that day, Maka's back stiffened at the sound of the familiar, silky voice. Her heart reached out toward him of its own accord while her mind attempted to ignore the ooey gooey feelings the man brought to her. She refused to let Soul have that kind of affect on her anymore after what she had heard him talk to Marie about.

"Nothing you can help me with," she said. "I can find them on my own."

"Considerin' this is my home, I think I know this place better than you and _can_ help you," Soul retorted.

His smug grin burned through her clothes to the point that she wanted nothing more than to slap it right off his face. Instead, she pressed her fingers harder against her body to prevent such a thing from happening.

"I still don't need your help," she snapped.

Her anger toward Soul felt a little unnecessary, but she prefered to turn her affectionate emotions into hate rather than feel the former. It helped to ease her into the prospect of leaving the show soon. Along with giving up on the whole opening herself up to love. She had tried, and it failed because of one stupid mistake.

"Stop bein' hard headed and tell me. I'll stay out your hair if you do."

Maka sucked out her lips before saying, "Where does your mom keep the ziploc bags?" over her shoulder.

Green eyes looked from the floor to him. He wore his usual hat except that the brim of it was tipped down so that it partially covered his face. She didn't know why, but it annoyed her that he had it that way. Probably because it prevented her from analyzing his facial expressions. As if it mattered, though. Soul was a man who remained stoic and unnerving no matter how what; he kept his feelings concealed from the outside for God knew why.

One corner of his mouth tucked up in a smug grin. "They're on the pantry door."

She felt her expression soften while embarrassment spread across her cheeks as she glanced down at the door beside her. Sure enough there were different size boxes that held a variety of ziploc bags sitting right there in front of her. Maka quickly grabbed the one she had been looking for and walked back over to the counter where the sweets remained. Busying herself with removing a few bags from the box, she averted her gaze from her Soul's.

"Thanks," she muttered through pursed lips. "You can go now."

"You're welcome."

A few minutes passed after their brief exchange. Maka began placing the sweets into the clear plastic bags one by one, being careful not to crack or shatter any of them. She made sure to leave enough space inside so that they weren't crammed against each other when she stored them in the fridge. Knowing Marie, perfection was necessary when it came to everything on The Bachelor. There was no room for mistakes; Oglesby's surprise encounter earlier was proof enough of that.

When she finished the first bag, Maka was surprised to see Soul still standing there.

This time, though, he had a water bottle in one hand and a sweet bread in the other.

They locked eyes for a few moments before he raised the bottle to his lips, and her eyes dropped down to them. It shouldn't have been intimate or turned her brain into mush, but for some reason it did. The simple act of his lips surrounding the mouthpiece caused her mind to travel south and imagine those same lips suckling on another part. A part that happened to be on her body.

Heat rushed up her throat and burned her face at the perverted thought, and she squeaked when he finished his drink. She didn't consider herself a perverted person - that title rightfully belonged to her papa. There had only been a couple men in her life that she cared for enough to actually go that extra step in their relationship with. So it surprised how quickly the thought had invaded her thoughts and created a pool of warm liquid in the pit of her stomach.

Beneath the brim of his hat, Maka saw Soul's face move as if he were questioning her, and she dipped her gaze back down toward the task at hand.

He didn't need to know what had crossed her mind.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Maka breathily said. She inwardly cringed before taking a few seconds to compose herself. "I was wondering if it's okay to ask you about your conversation with Marie earlier."

Maka placed the last pastry into the last bag, zipped it up, and set it beside her before turning her attention back to Soul. He appeared to be contemplating her question; processing it through his mind and trying to formulate a proper answer. The seconds ticked by. Each one worse than the last. Finally, Soul opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a shrill voice.

"Soul Ethan Evans!" Evelyn shouted.

Both Maka and Soul practically snapped their necks to look at her, the latter attempting to hide his sweet bread behind him but failing.

"Hat. Off. Now," Evelyn reprimanded. "And I see that sweet bread! I told you an' your brother that they're not for y'all. They are for the girls an' I. I swear you two eat more than the darn cows and horse out there!"

"Yes, ma'am," Soul mumbled.

He grabbed the crown of his hat, took it off, and set it on top of a piece of furniture near the entrance made out of horseshoes. Maka had wrongfully mistaken it as a piece of western decoration. Red tinted his cheeks as he did so. She was grateful to finally see his face properly as well as humored by the fact that he a grown ass man was being chided by his mother.

"It's rude to have your hat on when you're in the house, you know that." Evelyn crossed her arms and glared up at her son who leaned back slightly.

From Maka's vantage point, she noticed the same fierceness and authoritativeness gleaming in the woman's eyes that Soul had. An aura surrounded Evelyn that cause Maka to feel tense and on edge, as if her fight or flight instincts were kicking in. Briefly, she feared that Evelyn was going to turn around and chide her for doing something she shouldn't as well. Maybe she didn't put enough pastrys into the bag or they weren't the way Evelyn liked it. Or maybe she had overspent her welcome in the Evans home.

Who knew?

For a woman so short, Evelyn was scary.

"Don't want you making a fool o' yourself," the older woman continued. "We got company over, and you know it's more gentleman like to take your hat off. Especially 'round women." Evelyn's fierce facade seemed to dissipate as she turned to smile at Maka. "I'm sure maka here doesn't 'ppreciate men who refuse to keep their hats on while in her company. _Or_ those who steal sweets that ain't there's. Right, Maka?"

"Mhm," Maka nodded. She leaned on the counter in front of her and grinned in Soul's direction, a sudden burst of flirtation overwhelming her false hate. "I prefer guys who take their hats off and listen to their Mama."

"Good girl," Evelyn said, pointing toward her. To her son, she said, "I like this one. You should keep her."

"What?" Soul and Maka said at the same time. Both their faces the same amount of shock.

Evelyn didn't respond, though. "I best get goin'. I jus' came in here to grab my truck keys. You two be good now. And Maka, you're more than welcome to stay as long as you want."

The older woman walked toward the sink where a brown bowl made of faux wood sat and grabbed a set of keys from it. When she made to leave the kitchen, Maka swore she saw Evelyn actually _waggle her eyebrows_ toward her son. His small, exasperated cry of _'Ma'_ confirmed her suspicions. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment at the action. First Wes winked at her for no reason, and now Soul's mother was giving her son a look reminiscent of the one Liz gave Maka when they were out clubbing and she spotted her conquest for the night. Something felt off about the both situations. As if they both knew something that had _only_ been shared with them, and a part of Maka desperately wanted to be in on the secret.

Except she was also supposed to be mad at Soul…

Oh, who was she kidding? She still liked him no matter what.

After Evelyn's departure from the kitchen, Maka scooted the two bags of sweets in hand and walked them over to the fridge. She set them in an empty spot on one of the shelves, and said, "Well, I'm done here so I'll be leaving soon," as she did so.

She went to close the door, but felt someone behind her press against it to prevent her from doing so. Maka turned around to see Soul standing a mere inches away from her. His body trapped her in the cool fridge while also blocking her from view of the cameraman a few meters away. Her heart picked up speed at the close proximity, her tongue flicked out to wet her lips, and the familiar warmth washed over her body like a soothing wave. The tips of fingers tingled with the desire to wrap themselves around his neck and pull him down so that their lips pressed against each other.

"You wanted to know 'bout what you heard me ask Marie, right?" he whispered so low that she knew the cameraman couldn't pick it up.

"Yeah."

Soul's gaze glossed over as his tongue licked between his lips. For a moment, Maka thought he might kiss her this time, but that idea flew out as quickly as it came. His expression became normal again and he leaned in so close to her that his breath warmed her face.

"I can't tell you here, but jus' remember that not everything is as it seems."

"Wait. What?"

"I gotta go," he said, pushing himself away from her. "Wes still needs help out on the ranch. I'll see you for our date tonight."

Maka stood in front of the fridge slightly dumbfounded as she watched Soul grab his hat off the rack and exit the kitchen. She didn't know what to make of his words. Except for the many times she had heard him say the same thing to her during the times she had jumped to conclusions beforehand and made assumptions about him that weren't true.

* * *

Later that night, Maka stood between the two houses wearing her usual date outfit that didn't revolve around dress and nervously waited for Soul to arrive. She had spent a better part of her afternoon mulling over his last words to her, and came to the conclusion that he didn't want to end the show because of her. It didn't have anything to do with the accidental cheek kiss. There was an underlying reason for why he wanted to end the show a few weeks earlier than schedule. Which meant that her original issue with the cheek kiss was still a factor she needed to know more about.

The door to the main house creaked open, drawing her attention toward it, and she watched as Soul exited the house followed by a couple camermen. She ignored the rapid beating against her chest as she took in his outfit. Throughout their other dates, Soul had stuck to a strict dress code that mostly consisted of plaid shirts, jeans, and his boots, but this time was different. Instead of the usual slightly loose shirt, he wore a regular t-shirt that hugged him a little too perfectly comfort. Maka found it alluring as her eyes briefly travelled down his body before diverting her gaze toward the ground.

"Hey," he said.

Maka's eyes slowly found their back to meet his, and she smiled. "Hey."

Neither one said anything else as they stood in silence. Maka waited for him to lead her to wherever it was they were meant to be, but nothing happened. She hugged her arms around her waist and rubbed her thumbs on either elbow while he stuffed his hands in his pockets. One of the cameramen broke a twig beneath their shoe while another coughed. An air of awkwardness hung thick around them that made it feel like hours rather than seconds.

"You look good," Soul finally said.

He gave her a sheepish grin that she warmly returned.

"Thanks. You do, too." She felt the heat as it blossomed across her cheeks and was grateful for the faint moonlight that hid it from Soul's view.

"Guess we should get going to our date."

"That'll be good."

Moonlight lit their path as they silently walked across the property. Maka wanted to ask Soul the question that still burned on the tip of her tongue and buzzed in the back of her mind. The worries from earlier that week slowly crawled through her nerves and worked their way up to her mind. She needed to ease those worries and fears by knowing if this was all a waste of her time. If he really didn't like the kiss, them she could save them both the embarrassment and leave before things became awkward.

Her fingers flexed by her side as her gaze drifted over toward him. He walked with slight hunch of his shoulders like he were hiding something, and the muscles beneath his shirt moved with each step he took. In the moonlight, they reminded her of waves rippling up to kiss the sand before drawing away again. It was mesmerizing to watch him as they continued on their path; she felt herself grow more entranced the longer they walked. She didn't remove her gaze from him until she caught the orange flames of a fire ahead of her.

Ahead of them, in a clearing on the ranch, sat an open fire with a loveseat in front of it that had a checkered blanket dripped on top. A romantic setting that was typical of the show.

"Let me guess, this was Marie's idea?" she asked, directing the question toward Soul.

He glanced down at her with a sly smile. "I might've slipped the idea into her head."

"Really, Soul? I'm not that stupid."

His chuckle warmed her heart. "Alright. I might've told her it was a stupid idea."

"I'm sure she took that to heart."

"Oh, she did." He paused and gestured for Maka to sit down first. "Nearly set my ass on fire. Er, excuse my language," he flinched.

"You're excused. For the cussing. Not so much for the pun whether it was intentional or not," she smiled. "But I wish I had known we were gonna be sitting by a fire. I would've worn something else."

The air around them was so humid and sticky that it clung to her skin. She was thankful for the cotton shirt she had on, but her shorts were another matter. Sweat had a way of seeping into places she didn't think were possible when it came to that portion of the body.

"That's Texas for ya," he said as he sat down beside her.

"Probably the only thing I don't think I'll ever get used to out here."

"So you like it out here?"

Hope danced around his voice as he said that latched itself onto her so that she felt the same, but Maka excused it as her own selfish desires.

"It's different than the other places I've been to, but I like it. There's a certain comfort here that I really love, and everyone I've met so far have been really kind. That southern hospitality I hear so much of is true," she smiled.

Their eyes locked, and once again the question she wanted to ask floated to the tip of her tongue as it waited to escape.

"Soul, about what I-"

A twig cracked beneath the cameraman's shoe as it drew her attention toward him. It was then that she realized something she had realized long ago but didn't actually comprehend it until now. Soul didn't open up when the cameras were around. That helped explain his vagueness in the kitchen earlier, and why she always felt as if he kept things to himself when he wanted to say something to her. He was always stiff and calculated his actions when they were around; his words were chosen precisely so as not to give away too much information.

When they first met, his diction had been proper and less southern than she had originally expected. It wasn't until he became comfortable around her - alone - that he finally dropped the act. Slowly, it all began to make sense.

"What about you?" Soul asked, drawing her attention back to him.

Soul's gaze was soft, sympathetic, almost like he knew what he wanted to say to him. There were more words swimming around in a sea of red than he could ever say out loud in that moment. A comfortable warmth spread across her body that had nothing to with the fire or the Texas, and she found herself trusting him more.

"I wanted to ask you about the other night… When I kissed you on the cheek," she finally pushed out.

The wall he had built between them quickly went back up before he drew it down and smiled. "What about it?"

"I wanna know how you feel about?" Her voice rose at the end making it a question. "I only ask because I know you had said before you weren't going to be kissing any girls on camera so I thought maybe I had done something wrong then."

Silence fell between them as his face scrunched up in concentration. Maka waited for him to decide on the correct words he wanted to use, and forced herself to focus on his body language. She had never really paid much attention to that aspect of humans before, but she knew it was the only way she'd be able to figure out the truth with Soul. Whatever words that came out of his mouth, she knew they weren't going to translate with the rest of him.

His expression calmed into the stoic one she had come to know as he sat back in the couch and placed his hand over hers. Electricity shot up her arm, and she stared at the spot between them. Slowly, he turned her hand over and intertwined their fingers together. Her breathing picked up at the slight motion while blood rushed throughout her body. She didn't need to hear his answer because she knew it right then and there.

"I'll forgive you this time so long as it doesn't happen on camera again," he said.

It felt like a century before her gaze returned to his.

In the light from the fire, his hair had an orange tint reflecting off and shrouded his face in shadows that made him more handsome than ever before. His tongue flicked out to wet his lips, and the same thoughts from earlier invaded her mind only to have her push them out again. Yes, she wanted to kiss him. But no, she didn't want him _that_ bad.

"I really wish the cameras weren't here," he whispered.

"Me too," she whispered back.

They sat there for the rest of their date with their hands locked together and using every opportunity to touch the other.

* * *

At the rose ceremony that week, Maka stood in the middle of the very front. Soul - unsurprisingly - did the same thing had done all the weeks before. He called out every other girl's name while keeping eye contact with her, and the action brought a smile to her face. She knew it was all a game to toy with her and give her a false hope which was the exciting part of it. The only way he could make it better was by switching it up and calling her name first or in the middle.

Or anywhere that wasn't last.

She walked across the threshold to where he stood. He handed her the final rose for the night, said his usual scripted lines, and she gave him the same simple answer as previous weeks. The only difference was the white piece of paper that was crumbled up in a bed of red petals. Slipping it between her fingers, Maka opened it up and read the scrawled out words that were written on it and smiled.

I LIKE THE CHEEK KISS.


	7. Private Concerts & Rebel Phases

A/N: I apologize for the super long wait, but I am here to say it has not been abandoned! And I promise this chapter is well worth the wait! Thank you to everyone who has been patiently waiting for this! I hope y'all enjoy it as much as I did writing it! Reviews are very much appreciated as well!

* * *

 **Private Concerts & Rebel Phases**

There were a few things Maka had learned from watching The Bachelor all these years.

She knew there were people out there who tuned into the show for the drama and cat fights between the girls while also being tied up in the romance (however non-existent and unreal it might be). Others, like herself, tended to gravitate toward the show for escapism and pretend there were people out there whose lives were more pathetic than her own. Even with the knowledge of how many engagements and marriages had failed after the cameras stopped rolling, The Bachelor was a nice way for people to still believe in _something_.

Reality shows, ironically, were a nice stress reliever from _reality_. Maka understood that.

Except, the last thing she had expected was for herself to be thrown onto the television program and into a world she never thought she would be a part of and forget the main driving force of the show. The force that kept people tuning into the show and on their toes throughout the season. The force that had nothing to do with the romance or how much of a douche bag that year's bachelor was or the lavish trips the girls went on. Those were all perks of the show. Nothing more.

The true driving force of the show was the drama which Maka had thankfully been able to avoid so far, but she should have known it wouldn't last. Especially when she considered the note Soul had left for her and not the others.

"Must be a special rose if you brought it back with you," Blair commented as she slid off her heels and massaged her feet.

Subconsciously, Maka pulled the flower to her chest as if she could keep it hidden. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you know perfectly well what I'm talking about," Blair teased lightly. "Don't think for a second I didn't see you pull something out of your rose at the ceremony. I'm sure the cameras caught it, too."

Maka bided her time from responding by occupying herself with removing the pins from the updo the stylists had put her in for the night and sighing at the relief of pain from having them in for so long. She was definitely going to need to shower before bed tonight given how much hairspray was in her hair, but she didn't mind at all. Especially if it meant she could avoid Blair's taunts and teasing over the note from Soul since she had apparently seen Maka read it. It hadn't occurred to her how public the rose ceremony was or how many eyes would be on her during the ordeal; she had been in her own world.

Vaguely, she wondered if anyone else had seen.

"So, are you going to tell me or not?" Blair crooned.

"It was nothing."

"I thought we were friends, Maka. Friends don't keep secrets from their friends."

Glancing over her shoulder, Maka saw the woman giving her puppy eyes with a small pout reminiscent of a child who wanted one last story before bedtime. Or a particularly curious woman who wanted to toy with Maka's emotions and have her cave in. Unfortunate for Blair, Maka wasn't one to give up so easily especially when it came to matters such as this.

"I'm not keeping any secrets from you because it's really nothing."

Blair's puppy eyes deepened, and she blinked a few times until her eyes were glistening. For a brief moment, Maka almost gave in because out of all the girls in the house, the older woman was the only she truly trusted. She was also probably one of the only girls who wouldn't cause drama over the note or the kiss if Maka were to confide in her, and, truth be told, a small part of her did want to tell someone about what had happened. With Liz not being on the show and her cellphone gone, Maka had zero contact with the usual people she talked to about boy problems and matters of the heart.

Not to mention she had tortured herself all last week over Soul and the cheek kiss debacle considering how long she had stayed in her head about the matter. If she had talked to someone about it, she probably would have figured out Soul wasn't bothered by it or that he had liked it. And out of all the girls on the show, Blair seemed to know how to read people the best. She could have eased Maka's worries had she only confided in her beforehand.

If she was going to trust anyone in the house, it would be Blair.

"I kissed Soul," Maka said, her voice barely above a whisper.

She expected the small gasp of surprise from Blair, but not a second voice.

"You did _what_?"

Whirling around, Maka found Meredith and Nicole both standing in the doorway of the bedroom with identical expressions of shock on their faces. It was the flash of anger in the dark haired girl's gaze, though, that twisted Maka's gut in fear.

"You _forced_ yourself onto Soul?" Meredith continued.

"I didn't," Maka quickly defended. "It was an accident."

Meredith's gaze thinned in doubt, but it was Nicole who spoke.

"Seeing as Soul had made it perfectly clear in the beginning he wasn't going to kiss anyone, I'd say you're lying." A pause. "At least when it comes to both parties."

There was enough distaste in the words for Maka's stomach to lurch at the insinuation, but anger burned in her veins as she glared at the woman. Neither Nicole nor Meredith knew what kind of person Maka was outside of the show. To make such a bold statement about her was ridiculous for both of them.

"I didn't force myself onto Soul," Maka spat. "We had a moment after one of our dates, and I kissed him. It was an accident."

"In case either of you haven't noticed," Blair added, "Maka isn't the type of girl to throw herself onto a guy without his consent. She has some class unlike other girls on the show."

"That's rich seeing as you're one of the girls you're talking about," Meredith bit out. Blair flinched slightly, but her scowl never faltered. "Don't think I haven't seen you flirting with Soul _and_ his brother. Or practically throw your tits on any boy who walks by. You're no better than the rest of us."

While none of it was a lie, it was still a low blow.

Before Maka could defend her friend, Blair stood from the bed and crossed her arms in front of her. Her back was towards Maka, but she didn't need to see the woman's face to know her expression. It was clear enough Blair's usually sweet disposition had dissolved by the flash of terror in Nicole and Meredith's eyes. Blair's voice also sounded malicious when she spoke.

"I don't care what you have to say about me, but I won't allow you to degrade my friend into someone who's only here to get attention like the rest of us. She said she didn't force herself onto Soul, and I believe her because she isn't like that."

Feeling the conversation over, Blair pivoted towards Maka as her arms feel to her side.

"Come on, kitten. Let's go somewhere a little more private." She placed her hand on Maka's back and gently pushed her toward the door. Before they left completely, though, she added, "Soul is a grown ass man who is fully capable of making his own decisions about things and can kiss anyone he wants. It isn't Maka's fault he kissed her instead of you two," over her shoulder.

Once they were out of earshot of the other two girls, Maka finally clarified, "Thank you for defending me, but he didn't kiss me back. I didn't even kiss him on the mouth. It was his cheek."

"Those are minor details neither Nicole nor Meredith need to know about," Blair waved off. "All they need to know is that a kiss happened so they can be pissed off about it."

Still, Maka felt she should have given the other two girls more details than she had. Nicole and Meredith weren't exactly the type of girls on reality TV to let things go and focus on themselves. In the back of her mind, Maka knew the conversation with the two was going to end up causing drama for herself, but she had Blair as well.

So long as Blair was on the show, she could easily handle stupid cat fights with the girls.

When they were down in the kitchen, Blair guided Maka to one of the chairs in the dining room before checking to see if anyone else was around and sat down in front of her. A wide, cheshire smile spread across her face as she spoke.

"Now that we're alone, I want to know all of the details. Every last one of them," she said, emphasizing every word.

"Technically we're never alone." Maka glanced to a camera sitting on the top shelf in the kitchen, the lens watching the girls like a protective older brother. "It's the curse of being on a reality TV show."

"Stop stalling and tell me about you and Soul," Blair waved off. "I don't care about the stupid cameras or whoever's listening on the other end of them. Your two biggest threats are nowhere around us, so we can talk about your love life freely."

Heat blossomed along Maka's cheeks as she quickly said, "It's not love."

The corner of Blair's mouth tucked up into a half smirk as if saying Maka were only fooling herself which might be true, but Maka was also certain what she felt for Soul wasn't love.

"I've only known him for seven weeks, Blair," Maka huffed. "You can't fall in love with someone in that shot a time frame."

"Ever heard of love at first sight?"

"The first thing I ever did to Soul after meeting him was dump wine on him. I wouldn't exactly call that _love at first sight_."

Blair shrugged. "Maybe it's infatuation on Soul's part?"

"If my dumping wine on him is what made him interested in me, I'd question his sanity because anyone - man or woman - would walk away from someone like that. It doesn't exactly scream 'I wanna date you'."

"Maybe he liked it because it showed you were different compared to the other girls. He wasn't exactly Prince Charming to any of us during the first couple weeks, but we all stood by and took it. You're the only one who did something about him being an asshole."

Maka opened her mouth to retort, but realized she had nothing to say on the matter.

It was true.

She had been the only one to do something about Soul being an asshole that first night. She had also been the only one to see through his act the following week. Whatever Soul had seen in her after the first couple weeks had kept her on the show, and Soul continuously gave her a rose week after week. Of course, he didn't need to save her for last every time, but he still chose to keep her. Even after their rocky start and the accidental cheek kiss, she was still on the show.

Warmth spread over her chest at the thought, a small smile slowly gracing her face. She hated herself for feeling this way, for allowing a man to make her feel this way, but at the same time she didn't. There was something different about Soul compared to other men she knew in her life.

Maybe she was indeed falling for him.

"So," Blair started, pulling Maka away from her thoughts, "tell me about this accidental cheek kiss."

* * *

A couple days later, it took everything within Maka not to scream bloody murder as a pair of dark green eyes staring down at her when she awoke.

"Please don't scream," said a hoarse, quiet voice. "I come in peace."

Maka blinked and rubbed her eyes in the hopes she was dreaming, but when she opened them again, the green eyes were still there. He tilted his head and grinned down at her, drawing her attention to the bright blue hair poking from under his bandana to alert her of who the stranger was.

"Blake?"

"I sure hope Soul knows what he's gettin' into. You're not very pretty first thing in the mornin'."

"What the hell are you doing _here_? In my bed?" Maka half-growled, being sure to keep her voice down so she didn't wake any of the other girls.

"Well, good mornin' to you too, sunshine. Not only do you have bad mornin' breath, but you're grouchy too. Should warn Soul 'bout that too."

"Everyone has bad morning breath when they just wake up." Maka shoved Blake away from her who stumbled a bit before catching his balance again.

"You got some strength. That's good. We can use that 'round the farm," Blake said as he dusted himself off.

"Quit with the pleasantries and tell me why you're even here?" Turning bleary eyes toward the alarm clock in the room, she checked the time. "At six in the morning."

Blake's grin widened as he rummaged through his pants pocket and pulled out a note. "I'm here on official business. Soul wanted me to give you this myself."

He handed the letter, eyes sparkling as he did so, and Maka wondered what game Soul was playing. First, it was the note in her rose. Now, Blake was committing breaking and entering to give her another one. She might need to talk to Soul about the way he did things on the farm because she didn't think this kind of blatant special treatment was going to fare well with the other girls. Especially with Nicole and Meredith after the confrontation a few nights ago.

Unraveling the note, Maka read over Soul's chicken handwriting.

 _Meet me in the foyer of the main house before our date_ , the note read.

"Not sure what kinda hold you got on my bromigo, but you better take care of him," Blake said. He reached up and grabbed at thin air like it was the brim of his hat and bowed. "You seem like a nice lady, though, so you have my blessin'. Be seein' you later."

She didn't have the chance to respond as Blake strolled out the door.

Once he was gone, Maka glanced down at the note and smiled. Warmth spread over her chest like a cool iron despite her ill wishes for it not to, and a burst of excitement settled in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know what Soul had planned for tonight or why he wanted to meet in the main house, but she was touched by the note either way. Especially if this was going to be their new way of communicating.

* * *

Heart hammering and nerves buzzing, Maka stood in the foyer waiting for Soul to arrive.

She smoothed out the invisible wrinkles on the skirt of her baby blue dress for what felt like the thousandth time since arriving. Every passing second seemed to draw out for hours as anxiety and worry began to work itself into her bloodstream and throughout her body. Based on the gossip she heard from the girls, Soul had been on time for his date with them which consisted of fancy dinners and trips to an orchestra or play. Anything the show producers thought would appeal to the romanticism for audiences especially this late in the game.

Except, ten minutes into her date with Soul, and he was a no show.

The worst played out in her head as she waited for him or anyone, really, to come out and tell her what was going on. Maybe this was Soul's way of telling her she was eliminated. Maybe Marie would come out any minute and inform her she was heading home and the reason she was dressed up was so they could play up the trauma of being sent home before a rose ceremony. Eliminations without a rose ceremony weren't uncommon on the show. Sometimes the bachelor for the season grew tired of a girl and knew right away she wasn't _the one_.

But even as dread bubbled up the pit of her stomach at the potential thought of being toyed with the last few days, her heart told her a different story.

Especially when she considered the notes and what Blair had told her…

A door opening drew Maka out of her thoughts, and she turned in the direction of the sound. Her heart warmed at the sight of Soul, disgruntled face and all, as she tried to fight back a smile.

His attire for the date was different compared to what she was used to. It was cleaner than normal; no mud stains in sight or any sign he had been working on the ranch. Instead, he had on a deep, burgundy button down shirt with a nice pair of jeans, but the most surprising change was the lack of his signature cowboy hat. She hadn't realized how _white_ and messy his hair was even with the addition of a headband to hold it in place. The look suited him, though.

Soul's gaze lifted from where it was focused on the ground halfway to her, and he halted. The disgruntled expression from before evaporated into one of shock as he stared at her. Maka's heart stumbled for a new reason as worry about something being off from her appearance flooded her mind.

"Is something wrong?" Maka asked after several seconds of silence.

Light pink dusted Soul's cheeks as he pulled his gaze away from her, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck as he said, "No. Everything's fine. You, um… You look good."

It was Maka's turn to blush.

To cover it up, she quickly said, "You clean up nicely yourself."

He tugged on the collar of his shirt like he was uncomfortable, but the way his blush darkened told another story and pride welled in Maka.

"Uh, thanks. My brother made me wear it." Something about his tone told her it was lie. "You ready for our date?"

"Yeah," Maka nodded. She glanced around the room expecting The Bachelor crew had entered the foyer during their conversation, but it was still as barren as it had been before. "Should we wait for the cameras to get here? I'm sure they'd want to film this."

Unless there were some hidden in the main house. Maka doubted it, though. If memory served her correctly, rumor was Evelyn had forbid the show from placing any in the house unless it was for a date.

"I-" He rubbed the back of his neck and averted his gaze away from her. The toe of his boot scuffed against the hardwood floor, his face falling contemplative. When he spoke, his voice was soft. "I kinda asked them if they could not film this first part."

She blinked. "Why?"

"There's something I wanted to show you… privately."

Maka went to push for more details, but thought better of it as she offered him her hand.

"Lead the way then."

The edge of his mouth twitched slightly before he wrapped calloused hands around her smooth ones and led her out of the foyer. Her throat tightened at the contact, her stomach twisting into a knot, while warmth filled her lower abdomen. She hated the way he made her feel - remembered a time when she swore to herself she'd _never_ fall for a man - but the voice in her head told her this was different. Yes, Soul was dating multiple women at one time. Yes, it was close to cheating. However, it couldn't be classified as the same way her papa acted when he was married. Not when the man so obviously treated her like she was special compared to the other girls.

They stopped outside a door in the hallway, and Soul released her hand to place it on the knob. His hesitation, though, didn't go unnoticed by her as he rubbed a thumb along it and sighed. Anxiety buzzed off Soul's body as they stood there. Each passing second feeling like it took longer than the last before Maka finally stepped forward and touched his elbow, startling him from his reverie.

"You okay?" she asked, ignoring the burst of heat tingling her fingertips.

"Yea. It's just…"

He trailed off. His hand still on the doorknob, he glanced over his shoulder to look at her, his wine stained eyes darker than she remembered.

"I haven't shown anyone else here what about to show you. I'd appreciate it if you kept this between us," he simply said.

It wasn't what she expected, but she nodded. "If that's what you want, sure. I'll keep your secret." Feeling the tension still stale in the air around, she added, "You're not about to show me some kind of sex dungeon or that the Evans family is full of cannibals, are you?"

A small smile ghosted Soul's face as he laughed. "No. It's neither of those."

"I'm a little disappointed," she shrugged. "I was hoping the Evans family were sex demons or something. It'd make this season of The Bachelor an interesting one."

"Really?" he asked, his tone confused.

"No. I'm joking."

"Ah, right. Shoulda figured that out."

Soul turned back toward the door and glared at it like it was an omen. Small wrinkles creased his forehead, his mouth in a slight frown, but, as quickly as it had appeared, his face relaxed. Soul sighed, and allowed the door to swing open, standing aside to allow Maka to enter first. She was slightly surprised what she saw inside; not at all what she had expected.

The room was painted a soft, pale green with small yellow flowers painted near the ceiling to give the walls a warm, summer's day feel. Sunlight streaming in through the single window accentuated the vibe the painter wanted to give, the horses grazing in the pasture beyond enhancing it. It was breathtaking and beautiful, but the most surprising aspect of the room was the onyx grand piano sitting in front of the window. Though charming against the contrast of the room, it felt out of place. Like it didn't belong on a _ranch_ or to a family who was the picturesque version of country.

"A piano? This is your big secret?" Maka asked, turning to look at Soul who still stood in the doorway.

He bashfully rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "Yea."

"Do you know how play?"

"Yea," he said again.

"Where does a country boy learn to play the _piano_? Isn't that a little too sophisticated for you?" The moment the words were out of her mouth, she realized how rude they sounded and wished to take them back. Before Soul had the chance to look stunned, Maka quickly said, "I didn't mean to sound so mean! I'm just surprised that someone like you knows how to play the piano. I never really pictured someone who lives in the middle of nowhere to be-"

"So cultured?" Soul supplied with a small smile, not at all angry. "You'd be surprised to know we aren't the typical country folk you see on TV."

Maka's face heated. "I'm sorry I assumed it."

"Don't be," he said, closing the door behind him. "Most people don't expect me to know how to play let alone own a piano." His shrug was half-hearted. "I'm used to it."

Something in Maka raged at the idea of her falling under the category of people who assumed he was a simpleton and couldn't be anything else. She should have known he was anything but a stereotypical stable boy. The music on his iPod was enough for her to realize Soul knew a thing or two about classical music. For her to assume he didn't know anything else was idiotic on her part.

"I'm sorry," she sighed. "I didn't mean to make an assumption and criticize your intelligence. That was really shitty of me."

"Don't be. I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't be, though. Anyone who assumes you're dumb and don't know a thing about music should be ashamed of themselves." She gave him a small smile. "First impressions are always a lie, anyways. I learned that the first night here."

His eyes seemed to dance as he stared at her, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

"Wes and I actually get a kick outta people's reaction when they find out two country boys can play classical music," he said, stepping further into the room and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Wes plays too?"

"Not the piano, though. He's more of a violin man."

"And you're the piano man?" she teased.

He laughed, warm and rich. "Someone's been listening to more of my music."

"I've been enjoying Billy Joel, yes."

A small pause fell between them. They stood, staring at each other, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was nice and pleasant like the sun warming your skin during July.

"Are you going to play me a song?" Maka asked after awhile.

"Uh, yea," Soul said, his head shaking slightly as if he were in a daze. "'Course."

He gestured toward the piano for Maka to sit on the bench first, the epitome of a gentleman, and took to the other side once she was settled. As he sat there, she noted his posture and how pristine and proper it was, not a hint of the slouch she had grown used to over the weeks. He rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbow and flicked his wrists before positioning them over the keys. Though subtle, she noticed how they gently caressed the ivory like he was greeting an old friend, an old lover; the way he slid his middle fingers down one of the darker ones.

It was the way his body stiffened, though, that alerted her to a fact that went beyond the piano. The way he seemed to clam up, hesitate. His gaze darkened as he stared down at the piano, and his fingers twitched slightly. She didn't have to ask to know he had left her and gone somewhere else. Somewhere she couldn't follow.

Placing her hand gently on his forearm, Maka waited for his carmine gaze to meet hers and smiled.

"If it helps, I'm excited to hear you play," she said.

Her words seemed to help alleviate whatever anxieties he had, his eyes softening and shoulders relaxing, and he returned his attention back to the piano.

Fingers splayed over the correct keys, he exhaled, she inhaled.

The first note of the song was discordant, the sound shaking through Maka from her chest to her core, but she didn't flinch as his hands danced over the ivory keys. They moved far too fast for her to focus on them, her mind unable to catch up, but it didn't matter. She found herself being swallowed by the music as she listened to the haunting tune he played; one that spoke of sorrow and disappear. A broken person who had been tormented by demons a majority of their life only to be rescued by a sweet savior of light and wings.

She couldn't quite grasp the entire story behind the song - if there even was one - but it spoke to her heart nonetheless. Left her heart heavy and her stomach twisted.

Giving a quick glance to Soul, she noted how he appeared to be in his element with each press of an ivory key. There were no music sheets sitting in front of him or anything to even hint at what note came next. He performed purely by heart, and Maka wondered if it was because he himself had written it. The look in his crimson gaze, wide-eyed and glossed over, was one she knew far too well. It was the same one she used to get when she poured her heart into her poems. Back when she scorned the man in her life for his actions and gave up on ever finding a love similar to the one between her parents.

One she had realized was empty.

Soul's heavy breathing filling the room drew Maka out of her thoughts. She hesitated for a moment, debating on whether or not to clap, but then he started again.

A softer tune than before sang from the piano. Light and gentle like angel wings. Calming.

Though the change of pace was jarring, Maka felt the notes wrap around her soul and connect it with her heart. She felt the tender touch of a mother who loved her child as she rescued him from the demons of the last song. The warm embrace she gave her child as she crooned how much she cared and supported him. It was the tears stinging her eyes and the goosebumps along her skin that sent a shiver down her spine; the way her stomach swirled and burned with a mild heat. They were both so _familiar_ like she had heard the song before.

Maka spared a look toward Soul and noticed the way his gaze had cooled during the second song. So different from how he had looked during the previous one. It was serene and loving. She vaguely toyed with the idea of how Soul had written the two songs, at what point in his life had their stories occurred, and if it had anything to do with why he wanted the piano concert to be _private_.

Once the song ended, Maka released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding and waited.

It must have taken Soul some time to recuperate and remember his surroundings as he ghosted the tips of his fingers across the keys. She gave him a minute before reaching out and touching his hand. He slowly left the trance he had been in and met her gaze. Sweat dripped down his bangs and forehead, his cheeks flushed from the performance. His breathing was the only sound in the room. Maka's eyes dropped to his mouth before darting back up and she swallowed.

"That was beautiful," she whispered.

His eyes widened slightly before darting to the piano. For a second, she thought his cheeks might have turned a brighter red.

"You really think so?"

"I may have _shit taste_ in music, as you so lovingly said before-" Soul smirked "-but I do know good music when I hear it."

An image of his iPod flashed in her mind, and she quickly connected why the song was so familiar.

"Are you the one playing that song on your iPod?" she blurted.

He snorted. "Can't believe it took that long to realize it."

"You never told me you played piano or that it was even you, so how was I supposed to know?" she quipped, a small flare of anger burning within her. "Don't act like I should've been smart enough to figure out any of that."

Soul flinched and scratched the underside of his chin. "Ah, yea. Sorry. It's habit. I…" He trailed off and licked his lips. "Thank you for the compliment you gave my music back then on our date. I 'preciated it."

She felt her cheeks warm at the memory, but ignored it as she said, "You're welcome."

Maka waited for her blush to dissipate before speaking again.

"I still mean it, too. The compliment I gave you back then," she clarified at his confused look. "Your music is really beautiful. Haunting and a little sad, but I still like it.

The corner of his mouth twitched. "You might be the only one other than Wes that does."

"That can't be true." Maka's brows furrowed. "There have to be others."

"Trust me, I know. I've performed enough to know what everyone thinks of me in the music industry. Why do you think I didn't want 'em filmin' this? I might be a country boy, but I ain't stupid." He waited for his frustration to subside before sighing and running a hand through his hair. "But it really means alot to me you like it. Even if you do have shit taste in music."

Her mouth curled into a frown as she playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"I'm kiddin', Maka!" he said, rubbing the spot. "Geeze, chill with the violence, will ya?"

"Maybe if you didn't tease me all the time, I wouldn't have to hit you so often," she said, sticking her tongue out when she finished.

"You're a child in a grown ass woman's body, you know that? You sure you didn't lie about your age to et on the show?"

"Soul," she growled in warning.

"Kiddin'," he said, putting his hands up defensively.

Straightening, Maka smiled.

For the first time since sitting on the bench, Maka realized how close they were. Some time between his playing and their light banter, they had subconsciously scooted nearer to each other, or maybe it had been her. Her heart clenched at the warmth of his shoulder touching hers, and her throat tightened at the same time. She suddenly became aware of every movement her mind made, every breath exhaling from her body to mingle with his own, and the faint scent of mint wafting in the air between them. Soul must have noticed it too because his eyes widened slightly, but neither of them moved.

They stared at each other. Maka's heart pounding in her chest as she calculated the little distance between them, how close she was to his lips. Anticipation and want burned in the pit of her abdomen. Her mind toyed with the idea of what his mouth would feel like against her own, how rejuvenating it would be to feel his lips slant to mold against hers, how soft they would be. If he'd be a good kisser at all.

It was absurd of her to wonder such things, but maybe it was also natural. She liked Soul, _really_ liked him. Liked him more than any of her previous boyfriends. So the thought of tasting him, feeling him, wasn't really that absurd. Not really.

All she had to do was lean forward.

All _he_ had to do was lean forward.

Maka quietly exhaled when she felt his forehead press against hers. She reluctantly lifted her gaze to meet his, swallowing down the emotions swelling inside her as she stared into dark wine colored eyes. A sorrow she couldn't quite place etched beneath, but the regret she wished wasn't there was clear as a bright, sunny day.

She knew what he was going to say before he said it, but his words still stung.

"I'm not supposed to kiss anyone durin' the show," he whispered.

"I know."

A few minutes rolled by as they sat there staring at each other. It was tempting to press her lips against his and break the promise he had made the first night, but Maka restrained herself. If he didn't want to kiss her, she would respect that.

Before anything could happen between them, Maka stood up off the bench and smoothed out the skirt of her dress. Maybe it knocked her down a few pegs on the braveness scale for doing so, but she didn't care. There might be something stirring inside her, some emotion she thought she wasn't capable of, but it didn't mean anything. She was still scared of everything kissing Soul would lead to. Scared of the heartbreak and the pain. Kissing only led to terrible things. _Love_ led to terrible things.

She knew that better than anyone.

Giving her best, most sincere _we totally weren't about to kiss smile_ , she turned and said, "Are we going out to dinner now?"

Something flashed behind Soul's eyes she couldn't put her finger on as they hardened over, and the stoic man she had grown to know over the show overtook him once again. It broke her to know the front he put on when the cameras were around, to know he was preparing to close him up to her and conceal the emotions he let hang from his sleeve so easily. Sometimes she wished he could always be the same Soul she saw during their private moments. The one whose smile met his gaze.

"Guess we should go out there." He stood from the bench and dusted off his jeans. His face scrunched as he tugged at his shirt. "Maybe I should change? I kinda smell like sweat."

"I think you smell fine," she waved off. "Just put some cologne on, and you're good to go."

He smirked. "If you're fine bein' with someone who smells, guess I'm good then."

"You work on a ranch, Soul. In case you haven't noticed, you always kinda smell like animals when I'm around you."

The twinkle in his eyes caused her heart to perform backflips.

"Shall we get goin' then?" he asked, offering her his hand.

It was such a small gesture, but she found herself breathless as she slid her hand in his and he led them out of the room, down the hall, and into the foyer.

Her lower abdomen clenched when he still held her hand as they walked out of the house and into the snake pit of cameras waiting to capture their departure. It was made worse when he intertwined his fingers with hers, noting how well they molded together. His calloused thumb rubbed against hers as they walked with no sign of worry or fear of who might be watching or paying attention to them. Maka's heart fluttered as he opened the door to the truck and helped her inside.

Sitting in the passenger seat, she stared down at her lap with a soft smile as she waited for Soul to enter the other side. She hated the emotions stirring within her, filling every bit of her body, because she had promised herself a long time ago she wouldn't allow herself to fall in love. Then Soul came around, and now she was falling for him every step along the way.

Stupid cowboy.

* * *

To her surprise, the restaurant they were going to wasn't in the small town thirty minutes away from the Evans ranch. It took them well over an hour to arrive to their destination. Thankfully the ride wasn't boring or dull to her like most car rides - she rarely enjoyed driving anywhere for a long period of time. Rather, she found it to be quite peaceful. Soul had played a nice selection of music, and the silence between them had been comfortable. It also helped when he held her hand over the console, his thumb rubbing circles against her palm, to distract her from the empty roads they drove on.

Even now, standing to the side while Soul spoke to the host, her hand still burned with the imprint of his own.

The restaurant they were at was practically vacant as if The Bachelor show had bought it out for the night - possibly the week - so they could film in peace. Only a handful the tables were filled with patrons conversing and dining on their meal, completely oblivious to the cameras at the front door. Or perhaps they didn't care they were being recorded for a televised program. Or maybe they were paid actors to make the restaurant appear to be in normal working order as if it were any other day.

Snippets of Soul's conversation with the host drifted in her direction, and she was shocked at how formal and precise he was as he spoke. It reminded her of the Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice spoke; an air of aristocracy in his tone like he had done this countless times before. The complete opposite of the Soul she had come to know over the weeks, but, given the piano performance earlier, it did fit _that_ version of Soul. The version of a boy who had been raised in riches and private parties and owned a suit for every type of event.

Still, it didn't _fit_ the Soul she knew.

Least, not when he wore a cowboy hat, boots, and Wrangler jeans with a lasso in one hand and saddle in the other.

After a few minutes, Soul nodded and shook the host's hand before walking to join her. He rubbed his palms off on his jeans like he were removing scum off it, but his smile was charming nonetheless. She would have liked nothing more than to kiss it off him.

"They're gettin' our table ready. We'll be in one o' the private rooms 'cause of these guys," he nodded to the camera crew nearby. "Hope that's okay."

"I figured," she said with a shrug.

The sound of a camera lens zooming in and out alerted her to the filming going on behind her, and her hands instantly went to smooth out her dress.

"You look fine," Soul whispered. "You don't have to keep doin' that." His gaze lifted to her bangs, and his mouth twitched. "'Cept your hair is kinda outta place. Here."

Her heart stumbled, breath catching in her throat, as he reached up to adjust her hair. The brush of his fingers against her set her skin aflame, and she internally swore at the emotions stirring within her. How her body craved more of his touch.

"Now you look beautiful," he quietly said. Pink bloomed on his cheeks, and he stuffed his hands in his pockets as if to draw his attention away from it. "I should mention Wes'll be joinin' us."

Maka nodded. Behind Soul, the host grabbed some menus from the stand and walked toward them to presumably take them to their table.

She met Soul's gaze and said, "May I ask why?"

"Part o' the whole meetin' the family thing," he shrugged.

"Your table is ready," the host said when he reached them. "If you can please follow me."

They followed the host to the back of the restaurant, ignoring the stares from the other patrons as they passed, and into a room secluded from the rest of the restaurant. The cameramen positioned themselves in spots they deemed were perfect to capture the couple and Wes on their date once they were in the room. Maka's heart fluttered as Soul pulled her chair out and gestured for her to sit down first. She gave him a thankful smile, noticing the cameraman nearest them filming the moment. It was a struggle not to glare at him for ruining the moment, but she managed.

She flipped through her menu as Soul gave asked the waiter for a bottle of white wine - _didier dagueneau silex,_ to be exact - and realized she knew nothing on the menu. It was all written in French. Even when she had took classes in high school for the language, she hadn't picked up a lick of it outside of _parlez-vous francais_ and _escargot_.

Once the waiter left, Maka lifted her gaze to Soul and smirked. "Are you trying to impress me or something?"

His brows knitted together. "Huh?"

"You ordered the one of the most expensive wines they probably have, and everything on the menu is in _French_. And from what I've gathered since coming here," she remembered the country club he had taken her to a couple weeks ago and prayed he did as well, "this isn't a typical date for you. Everything about tonight, really. It's almost like you're trying to impress me."

Soul raised his hand to his mouth, but she caught the lop-sided smile before he could wipe it away.

"Maybe I am trying to impress you," he said, his tone and diction reverting back to the more sophisticated one he used when the cameras were rolling.

It was interesting how easily he turned it on and off, and, not for the first time, she wondered how often he used the same trick. How often he had to play the son who had been brought up in a mansion with butlers and maids rather than the one who lived on a ranch with only a few workers. How often he had to pretend he didn't get down and dirty or felt more at home on the back of a horse than he did in a suit. Given everything he had shown her thus far, she deduced it must have been fairly often.

There weren't many country boys who knew their way around fine wine and played piano.

At least, that's what she assumed; maybe there were more ranchers out there like Soul.

After one last attempt at reading the menu, she found the task to be unsuccessful and set it down on the table. Heat rose to her cheeks as she admitted, "I can't read French."

Crimson darted toward her and back down. "Would you like me to order for you?"

Maka blinked. "You can read French?" The shy look he gave her was answer enough. "I really shouldn't be so surprised. So long as you don't order me snails or frog legs or anything with seafood on it, please do."

"Don't worry. It'll be something good," he promised, and it helped ease her nerves slightly. Soul checked his watch and grumbled, "Where is this guy? I thought he was gonna be here before us."

"Wes?"

"Mm, yeah. He wouldn't shut up about this date last night. Surprised he hadn't gotten here the moment they opened."

"Maybe he's running late," she said, ignoring the embarrassment flushing her cheeks. As she took a sip of the water the waiter had brought, a thought crossed her mind and she asked, "So since I've already met your mom and now your brother, does that mean I'll be meeting your dad soon? If I make it passed the rose ceremony of course."

Soul's face darkened at the mention of his father, and Maka's stomach twisted into a knot. She couldn't pinpoint the reason for the sudden dread of bringing up the man or the fear of she had changed the tone of conversation for the worst as Soul's eyes unfocused and his mouth turned into a scowl. Whatever story there was behind his dad that could provoke such a change of emotion in Soul, she didn't like it.

She didn't have much time to dwell on it, though, for as quickly as Soul's demeanor had changed, it reverted back to the one she was familiar with.

"You won't be meeting," Soul said, his voice dull despite the normalcy of his body language. "Not ever."

Maka opened her mouth to ask why, but Wes appeared.

"There y'all are!" he said in a cheerful, deep southern accent. "Been lookin' all over the damned place for y'all."

Wes sat in the empty chair between her and Soul. He was dressed in a similar attire as Soul: button down shirt tucked in jeans and boots and minus the cowboy hat. The only difference was the way his hair had been slicked back with gel to get the clean and sophisticated look as opposed to Soul's messy hair sticking up in whichever way.

"Nice to meet you, too," Maka said.

"Took you long enough to get here," Soul mumbled.

"Traffic was bad gettin' into the city," Wes directed toward him. He poured himself a glass of the wine, swirled it around, and tasted it before spitting it back into the glass. "You must've taken the backroads or somethin' since y'all got here so fast."

"Maybe if you had left earlier, you would've been on time."

"This wine's good," Wes commented, ignoring his brother.

"For the price, it better be."

"Pa'd be so proud o' ya if he could see ya now."

The younger Evans brother's eyes darted toward Maka, and he coughed to grab his brother's attention. She caught the quick dart of his gaze back in her direction as he silently reminded Wes of her presence, a language formed between two people who had known each other all their lives. It didn't take Wes more than a second to understand what his brother was trying to tell him as he curtly nodded, smiled, and offered her his hand.

"Sorry 'bout that. You'd think I wa raised in a barn or somethin' for not introducin' myself earlier. Name's Westerly Theodore Evans, but you can call me Wes. All my friends do," he winked.

"Maka Albarn," she said, shaking his hand.

"It's nice to finally meet ya, Miss Albarn. Soul's told me alot about you." He grunted as if he had been kicked or hit with something, but didn't take his gaze off her. Lowering his voice, he added, "Don't tell Ma 'bout my behavior here. She'd be more upset than a ragin' bull at a rodeo."

A breathy laugh broke from her at the joke. Wes was so different compared to Soul; so much more carefree and alive. It was hard to believe they were brothers.

Stage whispering, she said, "I'll keep it a secret. Don't worry."

His grin grew wide and bright as he turned to his brother and said, "I like her. You should definitely keep her 'round."

Warmth swelled in her chest.

Soul scowled. "Sometimes I wish I was an only child."

"Ah, come off it, little brother." Wes ruffled Soul's hair affectionately which earned him a strangled growl the younger man and a swat at the hand. "I know ya love me. I'm not an idiot."

"That's debatable."

Turning back to Maka, Wes said, "It's actually Soul here I gotta worry 'bout. He'd go blabbing to Ma 'bout me forgettin' my manners and not introducin' myself to a pretty lady like yourself. Can't trust this boy with a secret."

"I'm not gonna tell Ma," Soul tiredly said. He nodded toward the cameras. "'Sides, did you forget all of this is bein' televised."

"Ma won't even watch this show," Wes waved off. "She don't care 'bout no reality TV. It's you who watches them Kardashians and orange people."

"I don't watch the Kardashians or Jersey Shore," Soul grumbled.

Maka found it hard to restrain the giggle bubbling up her throat over the light banter between the two brothers and how well they seemed to get along. It was endearing.

"I really don't," Soul said when a small bit of laughter escaped from her.

Green met red as she saw the desperate look on his face. She wasn't entirely sure if he was indeed trying to cover up a secret guilty pleasure of his, or if Wes was attempting to embarrass the poor boy on TV. Either way, her inner need for mischief compelled her to join the fun.

"Don't worry. I believe you," she waved off. She gave him a sly grin before adding, "It's really nothing to be ashamed of, though. There's no judgment in watching reality TV. Even if it is really bad reality TV. We won't judge you."

"I don't-" he began but huffed as he sat back in his chair and took a sip of his wine. "Fine. Whatever. Believe what you want. I don't care."

Seeing the hurt in his face, she placed her hand on his and gave it a gentle squeeze and smiled. "Soul, we're joking."

Wes' gaze sparkled over his wine glass, the corners of his mouth tucked into a smirk as he stared at Maka's hand on Soul's. It was a warm and gentle look; a look she identified as the one someone gave to something they loved to see or found interesting. Her stomach lurched in surprise, and she withdrew her hand from Soul's. But her fingertips refused to cool as the feel of his skin hers buzzed there.

"I meant it, little brother, when I said you should keep this one around," Wes said to Soul.

She squeaked at the sudden declaration. Her cheeks flared with heat when her mind quickly connected the dots and identified the blatant implication of Wes' words. A small wave of delight washed over her chest she may have enjoyed more than she should. Soul, who had taken a drink of wine, shocked on the liquid before swallowing it down and staring wide-eyed at his brother.

How the conversation went from light teasing to _this_ , she would never know.

"Wes," Soul snapped under his breath, "that was uncalled for. Don't make things awkward."

"No. It's fine," Maka waved. She met Soul's gaze as she continued. "I don't mind him saying that."

To Wes, she said, "I'm flattered you think so highly of me. Thank you."

The elder Evans' mouth curved up mischievously, his eyes glinting, as he turned to stare at his brother who slouched in his seat further than normal. A faint pink blossomed over his cheeks as he scratched the bridge of his nose and avoided his brother's gaze. It felt like they were having one of their private, brotherly conversations in that moment. Maka drank from her wine to distract herself from trying to decipher it. Lord knew she'd fail miserably at doing so.

One of the cameramen switching their weight pulled her attention to them, and she wondered how strong they were. She didn't imagine production cameras were light and easy on the shoulders. With the hours they spent filming, it must have been tiring to lug the large equipment around everywhere.

"Are you ready to order?" the waiter asked when he returned and broke the silence between the three.

"Uh, yeah." Soul grabbed the menu in front of him. "I'll have the Poisson du Jour Meuniere, and she'll have the Coq au Vin a L'Ancienne."

"Gimme the same as him. Thanks, darlin'," Wes said. The waiter paused in his writing briefly to process the words before continuing.

Blinking, Maka titled her head to the side in her own confusion at Wes' choice of words. It didn't help when Wes winked at the waiter upon catching his attention again. Her tongue itched to comment on the behavior, but she chose not to. It wasn't any of her business to question Wes' sexuality.

"Can you not flirt with the staff?" Soul asked once the waiter was gone.

"Don't be so selfish, little brother. Just 'cause you're the bachelor on this show, it doesn't mean I can't find my own tail to chase."

"I'm not chasing any tail," Soul mumbled low enough for only her and Wes to hear. "You're here to get to know Maka. Not flirt with everything that walks on two legs."

"Or four if they wish," Wes whispered under his breath. It earned him a glare from his brother.

"Don't say it like that. People are gonna get the wrong idea," Soul hissed.

"There ain't no sound guys, Soul. Relax."

A crease formed between Soul's brows. "Are you not wearing a mic?"

Wes ignored him as he turned toward Maka.

"So, Maka, tell me 'bout yourself. I don't know much 'cept what Soul's told Ma and I which really ain't much." She swore she heard someone's knee bang under the table as if they'd been kicked, but placed it as her imagination when neither boy reacted. "I know you're from New York City, work as a teacher for youngins, and came on the show for love or whatever. But no one really cares 'bought all that. Instead, why don't you tell me what you think 'bout this kid here?"

His question threw her off as she gawked him; a similar expression fell on Soul's face as well. She had expected him to hold a light conversation and ease his way into questioning her about his little brother. Not jump straight into the topic. Evelyn had at least been sly about the matter and drew Maka's opinion of her Soul out of her in strides.

Dropping her gaze away from either brother, Maka watched the condensation forming on her glass instead as she mulled over her words carefully. The heat pricking her chest and rising to her neck was due to the stale air in the room, she convinced herself. It had nothing to do with the topic at hand.

"I think he's a really great guy. A little rough around the edges, but he's really sweet underneath his hard exterior," she admitted.

She spared a glance in Soul's direction, the gentle way he looked at her twisting her stomach into knots and setting her heart aflame. It was a blessing to see him not angry or bothered by her confession. A small part of her had expected him to be annoyed with her being honest and blunt with his brother especially when the cameras were rolling.

"Hit the shoe on the right foot," Wes said. He raised his glass to Maka and drank from it. "That's my brother for ya. He's as friendly as an untamed horse when you first meet him, but once he gets used to ya, he's like a newborn puppy."

"Thanks for the kind comparison," Soul muttered, taking a sup of his own wine.

Though his tone was dry, the light shining behind his eyes didn't disappear. It reached the small smile he gave Maka, and she felt her own mouth return it.

"You're welcome." Wes clapped his brother on the back at the wrong time causing Soul to choke on the sip he had taken and spit it back into the glass. "Ah, careful there. Don't want ya to drown on wine before the show ends, now do we?"

Wes didn't seem to notice the glare Soul gave him in response.

"Anything else 'bout my little brother you wanna share?"

Soft blue eyes crinkled in the corners as he gave her a playful grin which told her he was fully aware of what he had done to his brother. A pang of jealousy shot across her as she giggled that made no sense. She wasn't exactly envious of their relationship or anything. They were brothers. There was a tight bond siblings had between them they rarely shared with anyone else. Liz's relationship with her own sister was proof of that.

Still, it felt like she was third-wheeling Wes and Soul even though the elder Evans brother was the odd man out. She was dating Soul; he wasn't dating his brother.

"Well, he's definitely full of surprises," Maka said, biting down the little green monster festering within her. "I never would have guessed he played the piano or spoke French."

Wes' eyes widened suddenly as he glanced toward his younger brother and back to Maka. "He played for you?"

"Mhm," she nodded, oblivious to the slight glee in his voice. "Before we came here, he gave me a private concert which was amazing. He's a very talented pianist. The song he performed was very emotional and beautiful - _breathtaking_. Surprising when you consider it came from him since he's so moody all the time."

Laughter boomed from Wes. "Don't I know it! Little brother was always better at expressin' himself better with music than words. Ain't that right?" Soul frowned and looked away in response, but Maka caught the blush creeping along his skin. "But he is talented. I tell him all the time, but he never believes me."

"He is, though," Maka was quick to agree. "I know much about the logistics behind music, but I know when I hear good music."

"That doesn't say much," Soul muttered. They both ignored him.

"Soul," she continued, "plays really beautiful piano pieces. I accidentally listened to some of the pieces he has on the iPod he leant to me without knowing they were him. They were all so emotional, though."

"Yea. See that's the thing 'bout Soul's music. He puts alot o' himself into 'em and puts so much emotion into everythin' he writes. Not many people thought that when he was growin' up - 'specially not Pa - but Ma and I always agree the boy's talented."

"I'm sittin' right here," Soul broke in.

"He really is."

Her gaze quickly drifted over to Soul. Between the time her and Wes started talking about his music to now, his face had turned brighter than tomato. A smile twitched on her lips at how embarrassed he looked, and she debated on whether they should change the topic or not. She was afraid if they continued, he'd die right there on the spot.

"I think we're embarrassing him," she directed to Wes.

Wes turned to his brother and grinned. "Aww, little brother's gettin' all red faced from our praisin'."

"I'm not," Soul muttered even though it was obvious he was.

"Sure. Keep lyin' to yourself. Maybe it'll be true one day, but we all know the truth," Wes affectionately said.

Maka laughed at the two before her and Wes continued their conversation, not missing a beat to compliment the younger cowboy who throw in his fair share of comments every now and then. She felt herself steadily growing more comfortable around the elder brother, enjoying his jovial banter with Soul when it arose, and was amazed at how easily it was to talk to him. The lightheartedness between them so much different than how her and Soul first got along with each other.

Unlike his brother, Wes was friendlier and more open. He laughed more, smiled brighter, and was all around Soul's opposite. She had more in common with Wes; they shared the same likes in literary and the arts and conversed in topics her and Soul never touched on.

But the connection she had with Wes wasn't the same as what she had with Soul.

There were moments when the conversation would shift onto another topic because they either disagreed on it or were on the verge of a small argument. Other times he would say something that irked her slightly, and she'd find herself wanting nothing more than to abandon it all together. It was like talking to a sibling; they didn't get along most of the time, but they still cared for each other. If the cameras weren't around, they'd more than likely fall into full out arguments.

The most interesting thing to arise from the conversation with Wes, though, was the hint of jealousy crossing Soul's face at a few points. In those moments, she would catch his gaze and smile and it would fade away. Like it had never occurred or it didn't matter.

Once their dinner was gone, The Bachelor crew realized they weren't going to be leaving any time soon and set their cameras up on tripods. Maka briefly wondered how long Soul's dinner date with the other girls before her had lasted. It was comment from Wes about a gaudy orange motorbike Soul used to have that drew the thought away from her as another took its place. The night they went out dancing and the bike Soul had driven her own flashed in her mind, and she whipped her attention to Wes. Soul's panic look at her reaction told her he knew what she was about to ask.

"Can you tell me about Soul's phase?"

"Phase?"

"Mhm," she nodded. "Soul had mentioned a while back he had a phase where he learned how to ride a motorcycle, but he refused to tell me about it. I was wondering if you maybe knew about it and could tell me instead?"

Another brotherly exchange fell between them as We glanced over at Soul, his eyes wide, and received a look Maka knew only as ' _don't do it'_ from Soul. She had seen him throw it at the elder brother many times during their dinner when anything remotely humiliating arose; she was bound to recognize it eventually. Like when Wes mentioned Soul had slept with a night light until he was twelve.

Twisting in his seat so his back was toward Soul, Wes grinned with an evil glint in his blue eyes.

"I know the exact phase you're talkin' 'bout. The one where Soul got the bright idea to turn into a little teenage rebel when he was eighteen. A little late if you ask me," he shrugged.

"Wes. Please don't," Soul pleaded.

When his brother hushed him, he sighed, rested his elbow on the table, and cupped his chin in his hand. Though his facial expression was annoyed, there was a hopeful gleam in his gaze as he watched her.

"You shoulda told Maka 'bout it if you didn't want me to," Wes chided. "'specially when I'm gonna tell her _my_ version of it."

"That's not reassuring at all," Soul groaned under his breath.

"So, when Soul turned eighteen, it was durin' the time Pa was on his whole prestigious college spiel since I nev'r went to one. He wanted one of us to be successful like himself, but music was never for me 'cause it was borin'. I'd rather be on the ranch than stuck in a monkey suit all the time."

Wes took a sip of his wine.

"'Pparently it wasn't for Soul either 'cause Soul here got the bright idea to go out and be a little rebellious when he got sick of being stuck in the practice room all the time and not able to be on the ranch with Blake and I. Came home one day with a whole new wardrobe - I still have nightmares 'bout that godawful jacket he had and red _skinny_ jeans - and the worst color bike ever! Pa blew his lid when he saw that, but Soul didn't care. He wanted to be back on his horse more than anythin'."

Glancing at Soul, Maka raised her brows in shock. "Red skinny jeans? You?"

Soul's cheeks flushed. "The girl at the store said they looked good, and everyone in the city wore them so I bought 'em."

"Don't forget the shoes," Wes added with a small laugh. "I swear Soul had them custom made 'cause no one in their right mind would wear 'em let alone _buy_ 'em. They had these black triangles on them like shark teeth and were full yellow. Matched his jacket, but red and yellow are a questionable combination. Ma probably still has photos of him if you're ever interested."

"Please no," Soul said, his blush deepening.

"I'll keep that in mind," Maka said earning her a small groan from the bachelor.

"The phase didn't last long, but it was funny to see it happen. It was basically five months of Soul blastin' the worst punk rock music ever and sneakin' out and ignorin' everythin' our Pa told him. You shoulda seen him with that bike, though. He loved it to death, tassels and all." Wes solemnly shook his head, a small smile dancing on his mouth at the memory. "Poor kid didn't know how embarrassin' it was."

"It was _cool_ ," Soul interjected.

"Don't hurt yourself trippin' over that lie, little brother," Wes tossed over his shoulder. To Maka, he said, "He also had everyone call him _Soul Eater_ 'cause he wanted to get rid of the Evans part. Even created a stupid headband to go along with it. Probably still has it if you ever find yourself in his room."

It was Maka's turn to blush as Wes winked at her.

She distracted herself from it by trying to picture Soul wearing the garb Wes described and Soul as a rebel. It proved to be difficult, though. The Soul of today didn't quite fit the image of someone who listened to rock music and rode around on a motorcycle in skinny jeans. He was far too country in her head. Maybe the attitude of a rebel was better suited for Soul considering the original facade he had upon arriving at the ranch, but everything else? Not so much.

"As fun as rebel Soul sounds," Maka said, "I much prefer the Soul of today."

Jade met sanguine as she added, "I like ranch boy Soul better."

The way Soul's gaze softened made her heart flutter and warmth bloom over her chest. He raised a hand to tug down on a hat that wasn't there as his cheeks flushed pink, choosing to instead comb his fingers through his hair, and lifted his gaze away from hers. Maka did the same, but the look Wes gave them didn't go unnoticed by her. Neither did the smug grin he threw his brother. A few seconds later, the elder brother directed the conversation to another subject that didn't involve Soul.

Still, she couldn't help but to continuously meet Soul's gaze and smile. The warmth in her body heating each time she did so.

* * *

The truck headlights gleamed out in front of them as they drove up the long, dirt driveway, casting everything in a faint yellow. Soft jazz music emitted from the speakers as the vehicle dipped and rose with the ground, and it took all of her willpower to stay awake. Her sleepiness has nothing to do with Soul's music choice - it was slow and sensual, but still lovely to listen to. Rather, they were arriving back to the ranch close to one in the morning after having spent longer than intended at the restaurant talking and laughing about all the stories Wes had to share.

Her head snapped up when the truck lurched to a stop. A low chuckle filled the cab as she blinked and rubbed her eyes.

"Shuddup," she murmured, her voice raw from lack of use.

"Sorry to wake up, sleepin' beauty," Soul whispered. "But we're home."

She hated how her heart tightened at the word, the wishful thought of it being true crossing her mind. He turned the truck off, removed the keys from the ignition, and placed them in the cup holder. They sat in a comfortable silence, Maka watching the stars twinkle in the sky above. A minute or two later, the headlights faded and left them in complete darkness save for the lights from the house a few yards away. With the camera crew retired for the day from filming, it was only her and Soul.

Alone.

"I wasn't sleeping," she finally said, glancing over at him.

Shadows danced on his face making him even more handsome.

"Yea, sure. Don't trip over that lie," he smiled, meeting her gaze. His southern accent had thankfully returned, and she realized how much she missed it during their date. It added to his charm.

Maka laughed. "You can't use your brother's line."

"Who ever said it was his?"

"I like your accent," she said before she could stop herself. Her eyes widened. "Sorry. I didn't mean to say that."

"Do you think it's sexy?" he said a little too smug.

Rolling her eyes, she playfully pushed him for the question, but before she could withdraw her hand, he wrapped his own around it and held it in the space between them. Her heart danced and twisted at his touch, her breath catching in her throat, and she tried to think of anything else except for _him_. She didn't succeed, though.

They sat in silence once again, and Maka watched as Soul played with her hand. He set it against his own, seeing how small it was in comparison and pressing the tips of fingers against hers. Goosebumps ran down her spine and cool liquid stirred in her lower abdomen with each movement, each touch of his skin on hers. Her heart steadily raced when his thumb caressed over her knuckles and his gaze met hers. Even in the darkness she could see how intense they were; the red of his irises burning in the space between them.

"You're beautiful," he whispered.

She didn't have time to think or react as he raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, his gaze never leaving hers.

"I had fun tonight," he said, placing her hand back down and letting go.

He rubbed his palms against his pant legs and stared out into the open field before them. Her fingertips tingled with the desire to pull him toward her and kiss him, but she restrained herself.

"I did too," she said. "I guess I'll see you at the rose ceremony?"

Soul smiled, his eyes shining with mirth. "Yea. Unless you're my date for tomorrow as well."

"I doubt Marie'll schedule a date with the same person back to back."

"You're probably right." His tongue flicked out to wet his lips. "Would've been great, though."

"Yeah." She grabbed the handle of the door. "Goodnight."

"Night."

A moment's hesitation was all she needed as she closed the distance between them and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Maybe it was too bold of her to do so, but the moment felt right. She didn't spare a second glance as she quickly left the truck and crossed the field to where the guest house was. Her cheeks burned with every step she took, and her heart never ceased in its fluttering. Not even when she went entered the house, so quiet and still, and went to bed.

* * *

At the rose ceremony, she stood in her usual spot right in the middle with a clear view of Soul. The table tonight held only four roses to represent the remaining spots left and how quickly the end of the show was coming upon them. Nervousness wracked Maka's bones and every core in her body at the realization of how far she had come and how close she was to the end. Everything had happened so quickly, so fast, she hadn't had much time to mull it over. One moment she was tossing her drink on the bachelor, and now she was kissing him on the cheek.

"Maka."

The sound of her name sounded like a forgotten melody as Maka was drawn out of her thoughts. She met Soul's gaze before staring down at the rose in his hand. Had time passed by so quickly she hadn't even heard him call the other girls name? Glancing around her, she realized they were all four still standing beside her and no one held a rose of their own.

It took her a second later to realize he had called her _first_.

Soul _never_ called her first.

Stepping down the platform, she crossed the foyer to where Soul stood trying to comprehend what his reasoning behind the change was, but came up short. His knuckles brushed against her hand as he held the rose out to her sending sparks of heat to fly up her arm and to her heart.

"Maka, will you accept this rose as a token of my love?"

They were the same words he asked her and the other bachelorettes countless times in the previous weeks, but for some reason, the sounded different tonight. Every syllable was said with such care and fondness. She blinked once - twice - before her mind connected the threads together.

"Yes," she said, taking the rose and walking to the side to wait for the other three girls who would be continuing on to join her.

As she watched Soul give away the other three roses, there wasn't a doubt in her mind she was starting to fall for him like he might have already fallen for her.


End file.
